Our history

VS FOCUM was founded on April 18, 2002, with the mission to research, develop, and manufacture high-performance firefighting foam concentrates.

The first products launched were BoldFoam BF-130 (AFFF-AR 1×3) and BF-330 (AFFF-AR 3×3), certified by the Feuerwehr Institut (Germany), and BoldFoam BF-360 (AFFF-AR 3×6), certified by the SP Institut (Sweden) according to LASTFIRE and UL-162 protocols, with a freezing point below -15 °C. BF-360 was shortlisted by REPSOL for its facilities.

The first sale of BF-330 was made to Citroën Vigo. Three products specifically designed for compressed air foam systems (CAFS) were created: BoldFoam A+ as a Class A reference at 0.3% (suitable as a wetting agent from 0.1%, up to 1% for medium expansion), BoldFoam 05 as an AFFF 0.5%, and BoldFoam 6000 as a Newtonian AFFF-AR 0.6%, defined by their high concentration, proven efficacy, and great eco-efficiency, enabling significant savings in logistics and storage along with prolonged application times in unfavorable scenarios. That year, the multi-expansion products BoldFoam HF-20 and HF-30 (low, medium, and high expansion), BoldFoam B3 (AFFF 3%), and a defoaming product called DE-20 were developed.

Various pseudoplastic AFFF-AR foams were created for 3×3, 3×6, and 6×6% such as B33, B36, and B66. Subsequently, BoldFoam M3 (low and medium expansion at 3%) and the iconic forest retardant WhitEx were launched, allowing wildland firefighters a triple-action product in one (wetting agent, aerial applications, and structural foam application).

BoldFoam BF-601 (AFFF 6% certified to EN 1568-3 and ICAO) was supplied to all AENA airports. Other relevant products that year included BoldFoam B13 (AFFF-AR 1×3) and BoldFoam M33 (AFFF-AR 3×3 medium expansion). The product BoldFoam B6E was created specifically for military frigates, and the popular BoldFoam XT-10 (10% additive for water extinguishers) entered the market as a benchmark for efficacy in both Class A and Class B fires.

It was decided to create BoldFoam 611 (Newtonian AFFF-AR 1%), which was selected by French firefighters after rigorous testing and initially sold in Cognac and various SDIS. WhitEx won its first contract for forest retardant for aerial and ground means. B13 was supplied to DOW Chemical facilities.

VS FOCUM was awarded the tender by the Comunidad de Madrid, while continuing to expand sales of AFFF and AFFF-AR to chemical industries and port terminals.

Exports to the United States and Mexico began. BoldFoam R3 (AR 3%) was created as a specialized product for biofuel plants, while BoldFoam M3 was positioned as the winning product in the tender by the Generalitat de Cataluña. Another relevant milestone was the supply of BoldFoam B33 to BASF and CEPSA.

Five products were launched that would expand VS FOCUM’s catalog in five complementary directions: BoldFoam F-40 (100% for vegetable oil fires, a benchmark in automatic kitchen systems), BoldFoam M2 (high expansion at 2% for seawater, IMO and Class NK certified), PhosWet (long-term forest retardant at 20%), the first iteration of (then) BoldFoam APC (‘All Purpose Concentrate’ without fluorine), and TwinGelFoam (gelling system for surface protection).

XTF (multifunction additive for extinguishers) and WhitEx LF (stable slow-drainage foam) appeared. Both products complement in a highly specialized way other options offered by VS FOCUM with similar characteristics.

Minibombero (200 cm³ aerosol with BoldFoam F-40 and refrigerant gas for kitchens, distributed by insurance companies), Trabuquete (autonomous 1000 L IBC system), BoldFoam AM (for CAFS in mining at 0.3%), the first Silvara A (fluorine-free concentrate that would evolve into Silvara 1), and B+1 (AFFF 1% additive) were developed.

Silvara 1 was launched as the first low-viscosity Newtonian fluorine-free foam certified at 1%; adding the concentrates BoldFoam AMF (anti-freeze version of AM), SL-10 (for alkaline cleaning), ANT-10 (defoamer), the B+1 + A+5 combination for extinguishers, and BoldFoam B3C (AFFF 3% certified to EN-1568-3 and ICAO).

The company produced for the first time the product Silvara 3 (fluorine-free at 3%), BoldFoam AB-10 (a more affordable version of XT-10), while external foam analyses increased. This also marked the beginning of VS FOCUM’s own, more exhaustive and personalized type of foam analysis, providing end users with answers about a product’s suitability for their personal use, beyond certifications. VS FOCUM opted for exhaustive technical analysis of different basins, rates, and application modes in order to offer truthful, verifiable, and expanded information beyond standard analyses.

ATILA was created as the ultimate foam paradigm (low-viscosity Newtonian AFFF-AR, certified to LASTFIRE, ICAO, and EN-1568 in multiple proportions and expansions), as well as the world’s most concentrated Class B product at the time: Silvara ZFK (0.5%). The first Newtonian fluorine-free aviation foam at 3%, Silvara K3 (ICAO Level B), was also certified. We complemented and reinvented the foam training process for firefighters with BoldFoam STP and BoldFoam STP+ (from 0.3%).

The aviation range was complemented with Silvara K1 as an even more concentrated reference for European airports with protection against low temperatures. As part of the international expansion boosted by fairs such as Interschutz, highly competitive products with high efficacy (EN 1568-3 IB) were developed, positioning VS FOCUM as the benchmark in the market for low-viscosity Newtonian fluorine-free foams. As a result of this technical and commercial effort, references such as Silvara Z1, Z3, and 003 were positioned in the market.

VS FOCUM certified some of the market’s first fluorine-free alcohol-resistant products based on advanced fully-hydrated polymer technology, such as Silvara APC3 (3×3%) and Silvara APC1, which became the world’s first 1×3% product. The development of AFFF 1% as BoldFoam AFM-1 (low and medium expansion) for emerging markets seeking access to effective foams at competitive prices complemented the range. Finally, it developed NEPT1 as an AFFF-AR 1×1 product designed exclusively for best efficacy when used with seawater, aiming to offer a flagship product for everything related to marine, offshore, and ports – holding EN 1568, IMO, and ICAO-C certifications.

Silvara 05 (for CAFS at 0.5%) and ARM (alcohol-resistant medium expansion) were developed. A modular manufacturing system based on Silvara FM was developed, allowing end customers – from a superconcentrate – to create affordable variants of low-viscosity Newtonian products. These could then be used to replace AFFF in certain legacy systems.

The company developed Silvara APC+ (3×3 low expansion with special efficacy on hydrocarbons containing alcohol) and reformulated B-Water (0.3% wetting agent whose foam self-destructs after application) and the first iterations of Silvara TANTUM (fluorine-free premixed solution for water extinguishers). However, the creation of Silvara I, a complete reformulation from scratch of the old Silvara 1 from 2012, achieved not only the greatest versatility and extinguishing efficacy, but in the same year it was launched, it automatically became the best-selling product of the company, a record it would consolidate every subsequent year.

As a result of the company’s market expansion in the international sector, and due to the lack of space in the original facility located in Porceyo, VS FOCUM acquired a property of more than 16,000 square meters – 20 times larger than the space where it had been operating until then. The company began adaptation works for the new factory in Olloniego, which would last until August 2020 when the relocation took place. Meanwhile, it developed new products on demand for specific clients and created exclusive versions of certain Silvara products for clients with special low-temperature protection requirements. It collaborated with other Spanish market companies in the combined supply of chemical powder and foam to airports. As a result of the massive success of Silvara I, the company developed Silvara III (3%) as a product version to serve as an alternative for users of AFFF 3% seeking an environmentally friendly option. Likewise, the exclusive Concentrate CR5 was developed for foam-based extinguishers and aerosols, and the VISC product series for viscosity simulation in testing for any product on the market, both in foaming and non-foaming versions.

We created Silvara CORE (0.3% Class B) as the world’s most concentrated certified low-viscosity Newtonian fluorine-free Class B foam, a world record that still stands. BoldFoam 613 (Newtonian AFFF-AR 1×3) and TF-13 (fluorine-free training foam similar to pseudoplastic AFFF-AR) were developed for industrial firefighters dissatisfied with equivalent 1×3 products on the market that had compromised usability, with VS FOCUM being the first to offer four variants of the same product for this use, thus giving these users full choice over which product best suits their needs.

Silvara K6 (Newtonian fluorine-free at 6%, certified ICAO Level B and EN-1568-3) was created, complementing the Silvara K aviation range, providing a non-fluorinated alternative to BoldFoam B6, along with optimizations in production, packaging, and shipping.

Two star products were launched that have become absolute references in our catalog: Silvara L50 – Newtonian fluorine-free foaming solution (directly usable in -50°C scenarios by heavy vehicles according to AS5062 and FM5970 standards) and Silvara AR as the benchmark alcohol-resistant product 3×3%, focused on the most difficult-to-extinguish polar solvents, alcohols, and ketones.

VS FOCUM continues to grow its international network and begins to develop products designed exclusively for specific territories, such as BM3 (multi-expansion at 3% with great versatility and affordability).

Silvara K1 (Newtonian fluorine-free at 1%, ICAO Level B) was reformulated and recertified to adapt it to more clients and more challenging fire scenarios – preserving usability while enhancing efficacy. As a replacement for BoldFoam F40, VS FOCUM developed Silvara 4F (for vegetable oil, Class 75F EN-3-7), as a non-fluorinated alternative with equal performance in efficacy and ease of use, after extensive material compatibility studies and achieving suitability for the extinguisher and automatic suppression system sector. Similarly, BoldFoam 733 (Newtonian AFFF-AR 3% with balanced efficacy on hydrocarbons and polar solvents, as well as freeze protection) was created, which became the last fluorinated development of VS FOCUM before the full strategic shift to fluorine-free foams.

Research focuses exclusively on non-fluorinated products. To this end, the BoldFoam APC product from 2009 was reformulated from scratch and adapted to 2025, becoming part of the Silvara range under the name Silvara APC (fluorine-free alcohol-resistant at 3%, multi-expansion). Due to the massive success of BoldFoam XT-10 and European regulations regarding fluorine, VS FOCUS developed in record time Silvara X (based on products that already existed in the VS FOCUM catalog with seven and seventeen years of history) and certified the new Silvara X at MPA Dresden (10% additive for water extinguishers), instantly positioning it as the absolute benchmark in extinguishers by holding certifications under the EN 3-7 standard with efficacies of 34A / 233B for 9 liters and 27A / 144B for 6 liters. Part of the modular success of Silvara X is that customers can freely adapt this product according to their preferences to enhance Class A or Class B efficacy without worrying about long-term stability, since all those tests have been covered by VS FOCUM with considerable years of study, testing, and evaluation. Finally, it demonstrated the great versatility of the Silvara range with the product Silvara AR, achieving the certification EN 1568-4 IB/IB with acetone and isopropanol, showing that even in situations of a 10% concentration loss, the foam’s performance is not diminished.

Coinciding with its twenty-fourth anniversary, VS FOCUM continues to drive research, commercial development, and expansion in key areas: aviation, marine/offshore, industry, fire services, extinguishers, mining, and forestry – promoting fluorine-free foams focused on usability, efficacy, and eco-efficiency. In that order.