While the biodiesel production business has been growing in the U.S., it has also grown in popularity overseas, especially in Southeast Asia. That has led a group representing commerce interests in Indonesia to visit a Southern California biodiesel equipment manufacturer.
This article from Biodiesel Magazine says SRS Engineering Corp. is at the center of potential trade agreements between the two countries:
Discussions were made regarding the feasibility of a biodiesel plant being erected in Indonesia, along with the possibility of the exportation of palm oil to the U.S., as Indonesia is now the largest producer of palm oil in the world.
The delegates visited a few companies throughout Southern California looking to develop partnerships with companies like SRS Engineering that could eventually evolve into international trade agreements. With SRS Engineering being a biodiesel equipment manufacturing facility and Indonesia being the largest producer of palm oil in the world, there was an obvious business relationship to be had.
“I was very impressed with the Indonesian delegates and their desire to create strong trade agreements between the two countries,” said Clayton Hawranik, President/CEO of SRS Engineering, “there seemed to be an obvious connection with what we do in the biodiesel industry and the Republic of Indonesia being the number one producer and exporter of palm oil. Our brief meeting uncovered a wealth of opportunities between our countries”
We’ll have to see what some of the commodity groups have to say about the potential of foreign palm oil replacing American feedstocks, but it’s pretty cool that there’s a growing market for U.S. know-how overseas.