Rivertop Renewables Launches Industry First Tool to Quantify ROI of Using Corrosion Inhibitors in Road Salt Brine

MISSOULA, MT--(Marketwired - Apr 13, 2015) - Rivertop Renewables, a Montana-based novel chemicals company, today launched its Corrosion Reduction Calculator, a tool designed to determine the return on investment (ROI) of adding the company's Headwaters® Corrosion Inhibitors to salt brine for state winter road maintenance. Developed by Rivertop using the latest research, case studies, and government agency data, the Calculator compares the cost of purchasing and handling the inhibitor to the savings of avoiding corrosion-induced repair and replacement of vehicles, snow fighting equipment, roads and bridges.

"Salt brine is a critical snowfighting tool but concerns about its corrosive impact on vehicles and bridges are mounting," said Mike Knauf, Chief Executive Officer of Rivertop. "Adding Headwaters inhibitors to the mix reduces the negative impacts of brine without impacting its efficacy in reducing snow and ice. We designed our calculator to reveal the savings that states, municipalities, commercial trucking and other road users can realize by reducing the corrosive side effects of brine -- without sacrificing public safety."

Projected over a five year period, savings displayed by the Calculator fall into two primary categories: direct savings that have a measurable impact on highway and road department budgets, and indirect savings enjoyed by commercial and individually vehicle owners. Developed for states to get an initial estimate, the Calculator provides agency decision makers with financial analysis including ROI calculations, Annualized Costs/Benefit and Direct Payback Analysis. The Calculator is available for anyone to access at: rivertop.com/solution/headwaters.

Using data from the state of Montana, the Calculator projects that addition of the Headwaters inhibitor saves the state an average of $3.9 million dollars annually in avoided repair and replacement of fleet vehicles, snowfighting equipment, bridges and other highway infrastructure. The Calculator further projects that use of the product saves $2.7 million annually in repair and replacement costs for the trucking industry, public fleets outside of the state department of transportation and individual vehicle drivers. The Calculator does not attempt to express additional indirect savings from avoided traffic delays, lost productivity or other consequences of corrosion-induced repair and replacement activities. If unmitigated, these costs have been estimated to be 10 times the costs of the corrosion itself.

Headwaters inhibitors are high performing deicing additives that states, municipalities and snow removal contractors blend with salt brine to help reduce the corrosive impacts of deicer on roads, bridges and vehicles. Derived from renewable sugars, Headwaters inhibitors are biodegradable, cost-effective and consistently perform at high levels. Rivertop's Headwaters inhibitors form a protective barrier that prevents salt from reacting with steel, which causes corrosion on vehicles and bridges. Headwaters inhibitors, which have been used by the Departments of Transportation in Montana and Colorado, have been shown to reduce corrosion by more than 70 percent.

Corrosion is a big problem for bridges and the cars and trucks that drive on brine-treated roads. A comprehensive 2012 report found that the corrosion and environmental costs pertinent to road treatments are at least $469 per ton of salt applied. The 17 million tons of salt spread on roads, highways and bridges across the country in 2013 equates to about $8 billion in direct corrosion costs.

About Rivertop Renewables
Based in Missoula, Montana, Rivertop Renewables is a producer of novel performance chemicals derived from all natural resources. Merging proven science with renewable feedstocks, Rivertop Renewables is creating an abundant and economical supply of sustainable, biodegradable and non-toxic chemicals and bioproducts derived from sugars. More information is available at rivertop.com.