Cargill Acquires Envirotemp FR3 Dielectric Fluid Business from Cooper Industries

July 3, 2012
Cargill has purchased the global Envirotemp FR3 fluid business and brand from Milwaukee-based Cooper Power Systems.

Cargill has purchased the global Envirotemp FR3 fluid business and brand from Milwaukee-based Cooper Power Systems. Cargill currently manufactures the FR3 renewable dielectric fluid made from vegetable oil that is used in a wide range of applications for transformers and other electrical equipment, benefitting performance, safety, and the environment.

"We have a track record of manufacturing FR3 fluid as a supplier to Cooper Power Systems," said Kurtis Miller, president, Cargill Industrial Oils & Lubricants (IOL). "Now, as a marketer and manufacturer, we will focus on growing the business with other customers seeking a high-performance, renewable fluid. With expertise in the chemistry and applications of renewable oils, and as an independent supplier with world class supply chain capabilities, we will work closely with electrical utility and transformer customers to increase usage of natural, ester-based FR3 fluid."

A product released to market in 1998, Envirotemp FR3 fluid quickly gained global acceptance and has been recognized by the National Electrical Code (NEC), FM Global, Underwriters Laboratories (UL), and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). In 2008, FR3 fluid was approved and listed for the USDA BioPreferred program, and in 2011 FERC approved FR3 fluid for Capital Treatment, which allows utilities to capitalize all costs incurred to retrofill a transformer with the bio-based dielectric coolant. As a result, demand for FR3 fluid has increased, and there are currently more than 450,000 transformers filled with FR3 fluid on six continents.

In 2004, Cargill's IOL business aligned with Cooper Power Systems and began manufacturing FR3 fluid exclusively for use in Cooper Power Systems products and for sale to other electrical equipment manufacturers around the world. Cargill has a global footprint of operations, currently manufacturing FR3 fluid at two locations in the United States and at one location in Brazil.

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