WCCO Belting Unveils New Line of Products Using Soybean Oil, KVRR-TV Segment
The TerraTech Project Looks to use Sustainable Materials to Create More Efficient Rubber for Belting
By Tim Scott
WAHPETON, N.D. — On National Agriculture Day, WCCO Belting rolls out some new innovations using locally grown products.
“Our rubber is man–made rubber and the materials that go into that are aromatic oil or petroleum oil. What we’ve been able to successfully do is to replace the aromatic oil with soybean oil and achieve equal or greater properties in our rubber,” said Thomas Shorma, the President and CEO of WCCO Belting.
As part of its new TerraTech line of belting products, WCCO Belting is using soybean oil to create more sustainable materials.
“Soybean oil used to be considered a byproduct and now there are so many new uses for it that it’s an important part of the soybean,” said Jay Myers, the Industry Representative for the United Soybean Board of North Dakota.
In addition to WCCO’s new soybean oil rubber belting technology, the plant also announced a 46,000 foot expansion plan that is expected to begin construction in April.
“We want to reduce our lead time for belting so we’re slowly going to transition and have more finished goods. We call it the ‘Amazon Prime effect’ so we can ship belts same day in some cases to help service our customers,” said Rod Koch, the Vice President of Operations for WCCO Belting.
The planned expansion goes hand in hand with the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability.
“TerraTech is just one more tool in our toolbox to not only have a more green product but it’s always about delighting the customer, giving them the perfect solution for any application they may have,” said Koch.
The new rubber belting technique with soybean oil was recently awarded a patent by the US Patent Office.
Mark Beyer, an engineer who has worked at WCCO Belting for 23 years, received a plaque for perfecting the new technology.
To view the TV segment visit: http://www.kvrr.com/