Soybean finds another niche

April 3, 2005

DAWN De BUSK/Frontiersman reporter

What's in your coffee cup? Is that soy milk in your shade-grown coffee?

What's on your plate? Is that soy baked into your wheat-free enchilada?

By the way, what type of insulation is between the walls of your dwelling?

You don't have to be a new-age proponent to appreciate the money-saving, heat-holding properties of soybean-oil-based insulation, a product that was only recently introduced to the Valley by entrepreneur Matthew Wirtanen, a transplant from Washington state who will be exhibiting his product at this weekend's Mat-Su Home Show, at Wasilla's Multi-Use Sports Complex.

"One difference that I noticed between Washington and Alaskan builders is that Alaskan builders and citizens alike are very knowledgeable about insulation and building physics," he said. "In Washington, insulation is just some stuff that gets put in the walls before you hang drywall. In Alaska, people pay particular attention to their insulation job, and for good reason!"

"This is great for my business," said Wirtanen, who owns Polyseal and sells and installs the new insulation, which is called BioBased 501. "It was particularly gratifying to get such positive feedback from my customers this winter. The performance of this product in this climate is phenomenal."

Wirtanen says besides the heat-saving properties of his product, another selling point is that it's non-toxic.

Dealers of more traditional insulation say their product is non-toxic as well.

Tom Dolan, for example, manufactures and sells polystyrene insulation at Polar Fusion Products, at Mile 49.5 Parks Hwy.

"Polystyrene is safe, you can drink coffee out of it. It's everywhere," Dolan said.

Wirtanen says his product has other advantages, though.

"It's designed and geared toward the middle-class population," he said. "Fiberglass insulation was designed for the masses."

The Polyseal product has a class-one fire rating - important in an area with a high number of home fires - and is also very efficient at preventing heat loss. The R value is R-4 per inch.

"How often have you driven past a home where you see the frost melted off the roof in places?" Matthew Wirtanen said. "The energy that the homeowner paid for is responsible for this."

Wirtanen describes the insulation technique.

"This is a unique, dramatic installation process," he said. "It sprays on like paint, expands very quickly and is good at getting into small holes and insulating the area very well. It makes millions and millions of little bubbles in the plastic, and you get your insulation."

"It is inert plastic just seconds after it leaves the liquid form, so its properties virtually stay the same forever," he said.

BioBased 501 - a water-blown product containing no chlorofluorocarbons or harmful off gases - weighs about half a pound per cubic foot.

"It bonds perfectly to all types of wood, metal and concrete," he said.

As far as appearance, it looks like polyurethane foam. The soybeans, which make up the foam, are grown in the Midwest.

Wirtanen arrived in the state almost one year ago, joining his brother, Carl, who is a builder here.

"He's my single biggest account," Matthew Wirtanen said.

"He gave me a list of problems he's facing in construction," he said, noting that water buildup and mold top the list when it comes to insulation. "As builders (in cooler climates) know, the slightest pin hole in their vapor barrier can result in frost buildup that inevitably melts, causing water to soak into fiberglass. I brought this product up here to provide a choice."

The cost of the soybean-based insulation will generally be 30 percent more than fiberglass. But the manufacturer guarantees a 30- to 50-percent energy savings, according to Matthew Wirtanen.

"Polyseal is code-approved for countless uses, including commercial, industrial and residential buildings," he said.

This summer, Matthew Wirtanen insulated the attic of a church in the Valley. The foam used in the church project was made from roughly 2.5 acres of soybeans, he said.

Carl Wirtanen, who first started his construction business in 1995, described the difficulty of appropriately insulating unusual roof designs with traditional insulation.

"When I moved here and took the cold weather/arctic home-building classes, I saw the difficulty in insulating those styles of homes (with cathedral ceiling or sharply-pitched roofs). I simply wouldn't build those designs. I would work hard to persuade my homebuyer that that wasn't a good design for the climate."

He once had clients who insisted on sticking with their unique roof style despite his arguments, so Carl Wirtanen asked them to sign a disclaimer that he was not to blame if the roof ever leaked, adding that they never called back so he doesn't know if the roof never leaked or if they had a leaky roof but respected the disclaimer.

But the future looks dryer for Wirtanen Inc.'s clients, with Matthew Wirtanen using his soybean-based product.

"We believe in providing our customers with the facts, a free estimate and letting them make a choice," he said, adding that he isn't pushy with his product since he thinks the concept sells itself.

Approximately 150 dealers sell the product nationwide. For more information, check out www.biobased.com. Wirtanen will also staff a booth at the home show at the Multi-Use Sports Complex in Wasilla today from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.