FutureFuel Corp., through its wholly owned subsidiary, FutureFuel Chemical Company, manufactures diversified chemical products, bio-based fuel products, and bio-based specialty chemical products.
Segments
The company’s business operates through chemicals and biofuels segments.
The chemicals segment manufactures a diversified listing of chemical products that are sold to third party customers. The majority of the revenues from the chemicals segment are derived from the custom manufacturing of...
FutureFuel Corp., through its wholly owned subsidiary, FutureFuel Chemical Company, manufactures diversified chemical products, bio-based fuel products, and bio-based specialty chemical products.
Segments
The company’s business operates through chemicals and biofuels segments.
The chemicals segment manufactures a diversified listing of chemical products that are sold to third party customers. The majority of the revenues from the chemicals segment are derived from the custom manufacturing of specialty chemicals for specific customers. The company has actively worked to develop its chemicals business with new customers in more diversified growth markets. As part of that focus on growth, the company has introduced procedural updates to its operation to allow the company’s re-entry to the pharma intermediates market. This capability has been confirmed by third party audits. The company’s chemicals business is based on a solid reputation as a technology-driven, highly reliable, and globally competitive chemicals producer. The company retains a strong emphasis on operational excellence, cost control, and efficiency improvements to enables it to compete in the worldwide chemical industry.
With respect to the company’s biofuels segment, its plant's demonstrated capacity is approximately 59 million gallons (‘MMgy’). The company produced 45 gallons during 2024. This scale and the design of its plant in Batesville allows the company to process a wide variety of feedstocks and continuously achieve high biodiesel yields. Combined with the synergies of running a shared chemical manufacturing facility, this has allowed the company to be consistently successful in a highly competitive market.
Operations
The company’s biofuels business segment primarily involves the production and sale of biodiesel and petrodiesel blends. The company’s custom chemicals manufacturing involves producing unique products for strategic customers, generally under long-term contracts. The custom chemicals manufacturing portfolio includes biocides intermediates, specialty polymers, dyes, stabilizers, oil and gas, and chemicals intermediates. The company’s performance chemicals product portfolio includes polymer modifiers that enhance stain resistance and dye-ability of nylon and polyester fibers, in addition to several small-volume specialty chemicals and solvents for diverse applications.
The company is committed to growing and adapting its biofuels and chemicals businesses. For the biofuels business segment, the company will continue to leverage its technical capabilities and quality certifications, secure local and regional markets, and expand marketing efforts to fleets and regional/national customers. For the company’s chemicals segment, it intends to pursue development and commercialization of new products, including building block chemicals and intermediate chemicals requiring Good Manufacturing Practices (‘GMP’).
Biofuels Business Segment
Biofuel Products
The company’s biofuels business segment began in 2005 and primarily includes the production and sale of biodiesel. In addition, the company sells petrodiesel in blends with its biodiesel and, from time to time, with no biodiesel added.
The company’s technical and operational competency developed as a supplier of specialty chemicals, inclusive of research and development and analytical laboratory testing, enabled the expansion of a flexible manufacturing process. The company’s process can use a broad range of feedstock oils, including but not limited to, soy oil, cottonseed oil, pork lard, poultry fat, inedible corn oil, yellow grease, inedible tallow, choice white grease, used cooking oil, and beef tallow. The company’s Batesville plant produces biodiesel, which is sometimes referenced as ‘B100.’ The company offers B100, and biodiesel blended with petrodiesel (B2, B5, B10, B20, B50, and B99 blends) at its Batesville facility and at a short-term leased storage facility in Little Rock, Arkansas. In addition, the company delivers blended product to customers within its region.
Biodiesel Production/Capacity
The company’s plant has a demonstrated production capacity of 59 MMgy.
Byproducts
Glycerin
A byproduct of the biodiesel process is crude glycerin, which is produced at the rate of approximately 10% by mass of the quantity of biodiesel produced. The company’s business produces both crude glycerin and refined glycerin for commercial sales.
The company also refines a large portion of its crude glycerin into a purer form which is used in higher value markets, such as specialty chemical production, agricultural formulations, food, pharmaceutical, and/or cosmetic applications. The company’s business strives to maximize availability of the higher value refined glycerin based on refining capacity, product specifications, prices, and other market conditions.
Customers and Markets
The company markets its biodiesel products by truck and rail directly to customers in the United States. The company also has the capability to load through barge from a terminal in Little Rock, Arkansas. Through the utilization of liquid bulk storage facilities and barge loading capabilities, the company is positioned to market biodiesel throughout the United States predominately for transportation.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, two customers represented approximately 44% of biofuel revenue (35% of total revenue). Significant customers for the year ended December 31, 2024, varied from year to year, and were consisted of five customers.
Supply and Distribution
As a result of the company’s feedstock-flexible process, it can source feedstock from a broad supplier base, which includes degummed soy oil, distilled corn oil producers, reclaimed used cooking oil, and pork, chicken, and beef rendering facilities from both national and regional suppliers. The company sells biodiesel from its plant site, as well as ship it to liquid bulk storage facilities for further distribution. Sales from the company’s plant site are made by railcar and tank truck. Biodiesel is being delivered by company-owned tank trucks and common carriers to a liquid bulk storage facility leased by the company for distribution there and for further transportation by barge or tank truck.
Chemicals Business Segment
The company’s chemicals segment manufactures diversified chemical products that are sold to third party customers. This segment consists of two components: ‘custom manufacturing’ (manufacturing specialty chemicals for specific customers) and ‘performance chemicals’ (multi-customer specialty chemicals).
Chemical Products
The company’s custom manufacturing products are manufactured by continuous production, dedicated batch or general-purpose batch mode depending on the specific product and the volumes required. The company is a full-service strategic partner to its key and potential customers in this segment. The company’s commercial, engineering and technology teams work collaboratively with its customers to further drive continuous process improvements and with potential customers to deliver new business.
The company’s plant’s custom manufacturing product portfolio includes products that are used in the coatings, chemical intermediates, industrial and consumer cleaning, oil and gas, dyes, and specialty polymers industries. The company’s custom manufacturing product portfolio is more diversified into multiple markets including agrochemicals, oilfield chemicals, industrial intermediates, and fabric care markets.
Performance chemicals consist of products which are generally available to the open market and sold to multiple customers. These products are sold based upon specification and are intended for specific performance in specialty end-use applications determined by the customer. This portfolio includes a family of polymer (nylon and polyester) modifiers, glycerin products, consumer cleaning products, surfactants, and several small-volume specialty chemicals and solvents for diverse applications.
Customers and Markets
The company’s chemical products are used in a variety of markets and end uses, including detergent, agrochemical, automotive, oil and gas, coatings, nutrition, and polymer additives. Some of the chemical products can be cyclically driven by changes in general demand factors. In the case of the company’s custom manufacturing business, the customers are typically the brand owners and, therefore, they control factors related to production demand, such as market development, patent expirations and their external manufacturing strategy.
Research and Development
The company’s research and development expenses were $ 3,993,000 for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Environmental Matters
Some of the environmental laws and regulations that impact the company's activities include the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), and analogous state laws; the federal Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); the federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and regulations thereunder; the federal Water Pollution Control Act (also referred to as the 'Clean Water Act'); the federal Clean Air Act and associated state laws and regulations; and the federal Endangered Species Act, the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, similar federal and state wildlife protection laws, and The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
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