Pioneering the Science of SPF

Spray Foam Magazine – Spring 2021 – NCFI Polyurethanes has been a well-known and respected name in the spray foam industry since the early 1960s, and they are still recognized innovators in the scientific development of SPF. In 2021 they are once again making a giant leap to improve the production of their high-performance materials for a larger market.

What better way to celebrate turning 57 than to build an impressive 60,000 sq.ft. facility in Houston, Texas? NCFI’s new build will add jobs and manufacturing space for their geotechnical (Terrathane), insulation, (InsulStar, InsulStar Light, InsulStar 1.7, InsulBloc, Agrithane) and roofing (Enduratech) product lines. NCFI is one of the last truly independent system houses in the industry, and the company now has an inspiring 600,000 sq.ft. of combined manufacturing space in the U.S., along with 14 distribution warehouses to serve the nation.

Spray Foam Magazine spoke with NCFI president Chip Holton about this new manufacturing facility and his pure passion and vision for the industry. “The plant was designed to be the most advanced automation manufacturing facility in the industry. It wasn’t easy getting it online, but we hit our opening target date of January 1, 2021. We actually did some pre-production runs during the month of December to dial it all in.”

Holton goes on to explain why NCFI opened another facility, “We needed to add capacity. Our original facility in Mount Airy, NC, has been operating since 1964, and we needed more space for these lines. We needed additional space because of growth in sales, and also to get ahead of the continuing expansion of the market.”

Holton says NCFI chose Houston to be closer to raw materials, to establish a solid footprint in one of the strongest building markets in the U.S., and to provide the agility to move product lines and swap volume between facilities when required. All of this was accomplished without interruption to production of their high-quality, high-performance products.

The facility was built during the turbulent months of COVID-19, but the NCFI team rose to the challenge with a well-organized infrastructure and dedicated people working according to a good plan. Holton explains, “The pandemic certainly presented some issues due to protocols, changing state regulations, and our commitment to doing everything we can to keep our people safe. Many of our associates responsible for executing this project are based out of North Carolina, which made travel to and from the Houston facility a little difficult. From the beginning of the pandemic, we have been extremely proactive in dealing with logistics of non-stoppage of work as we are classified as an essential industry for the United States.”

For Holton, it was imperative NCFI associates were safe and felt comfortable coming to work. As a result, the company experienced minimal issues relating to the pandemic in any of their facilities. The Houston plant team was forced to rely mainly on digital conferencing to communicate between facilities and with outside contractors. Holton says, “That really established a good working protocol for the continuing communication between North Carolina and Houston. We just work around the time difference.”

While the company’s R&D will remain in North Carolina, the Houston facility will house an exciting Audio-Visual Interactive Training Center. According to Holton, “Our intention is to make this our main training facility for all our customers and contractors with which we partner, and even those who may not be customers. We realize with our 57 years of experience, the better the training we can give contractors, the better they are going to represent the overall industry.

The Houston facility is built to the latest code to ensure NCFI associates remain safe. Because NCFI is a chemical company, safety has always been paramount. “Safety is the first concern of our company culture, so it played a major role in the construction of this facility. We’re proud of this new safe, efficient, and sustainable building. We balance the commitment to adding capacity to service the growing market with environmental sustainability, and the health and welfare of our associates,” says Holton.”

NCFI has what Holton calls, “an organic plan,” to expand and manage manufacturing capacity while investing in the future of the industry. He agrees if they could do it during a global pandemic, they can do it even better when the pandemic is no longer a pandemic. Holton says the success of getting the Houston plant online proves NCFI’s experience, determination, and a culture of safety first, can work together to result in sustainable growth and leaps in innovation.