With increased feed costs, the ethanol and livestock industries have seemed to be at odds lately. But one company exhibiting at the 2008 Ethanol Conference and Trade Show supplies the needs of both sectors with key products and services.
PhibroChem is a specialty chemicals supplier featuring key products for a variety of industries, including ethanol. One of their main products is Lactrol, which is used during the process of alcoholic fermentation to prevent or reduce the potential yield loss caused by strains of lactic acid bacteria.
“Lactrol has been in the ethanol industry globally for 30 years,” said PilbroChem president Mike Giambalvo.
PhibroChem is a division of Phibro Animal Health Corporation, which is a global company focused on the manufacturing and marketing of animal health care products, agricultural and industrial chemicals and services. Giambalvo says they are therefore very interested in the health of both the livestock and ethanol industries.
“We believe there can be harmony and we have three businesses that address the needs of the ethanol industry and the animal health and nutrition industry,” Giambalvo said. “We see the whole picture, the value of not just the ethanol, but the co-products that come out of there and end up in the animal feed and nutrition business.”
Giambalvo believes they have a great story to tell and they just hired a person who has many years of experience in the agriculture and ethanol industries to help them do that. Tom Slunecka is former executive director of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, and prior to that worked for the National Corn Growers Association and agribusiness companies such as Monsanto. “People in the ethanol industry know our product,” Giambalvo says. “Now they need to get to know the people and the company behind it and we think Tom will help us accomplish that.”
Mike and Tom are pictured at their ACE trade show booth.
Listen to an interview with Mike Giambalvo from the ACE conference:
[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/ace/ace-phibro.mp3]