Gas prices may be on the rise resulting in a great market for ethanol, but ethanol plant margins are still tight. You can learn hands-on strategies to improve your ethanol plant margins by attending the fifth Process Optimization Seminar in Houston, Texas on April 27-29th. The seminar is sponsored by several leading ethanol industry companies including Phibro Ethanol Performance Group, Fermentis, Novozymes, and Fremont Industries.

Steve Rust, the Marketing Director for Fremont Industries, has been involved in these seminars since their inception four years ago. While Rust explains they have been wildly successful, after receiving feedback from the participants, the team decided to move away from the Midwest and head to Houston where plant managers, general managers and operations managers can get an even more hands on experience. The group will be visiting a refinery as well as visiting SGS labs.

Listen to my interview with Steve Rust here: Steve Rust Discusses Process Optimization

Rust said past seminars have been a series of 100/200 level classes designed for operations managers to understand why they do what they do. Following the seminars, attendees approached the instructors asking for more in-depth sessions. As a result, this seminar will focus less on operations and more on the financial aspects on how to manage plant operations but with a focus on high-level managers. The sessions will focus more on the expertise of the sponsor companies and how they can aid the plant in becoming more profitable.

Fremont Industries has an expertise in water treatment and today has over 40 ethanol plants that they work with. Rust said that where water treatment technologies can really benefit a plant is in keeping costs down because the plant is running at peak efficiency. Rust said there are exchangers and pre-treatment equipment that can help keep a plant’s costs down and these will be discussed during the event.

I asked Rust why this this event is so unique and so important for the industry. “What we really try to do is respect the time away from the plant because we know plants are busy,” said Rust. He said that they moved the event to Houston because they knew that they wanted to give the attendees some extra value and things like the tours coupled with the seminar sessions would give them tools they could take back to the plant, implement immediately, and see their profits increase.

Registration is limited and the early bird registration deadline is April 15th. Visit the Process Optimization Seminar website for more information and for online registration.