American Coalition for Ethanol conference is featuring breakout sessions tailored to ethanol plant boards of directors.
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) 31st annual conference coming up Aug. 15-17 in Minneapolis offers a variety of breakout sessions covering the latest in technology updates, strategic planning advice, and ways to make ethanol plants more profitable.
The breakout sessions will be held concurrently in three rounds on the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 16, following the morning general session panels.
“Our conference theme is Grit Wins, which defines the tenacity of the people who make up the ethanol industry and their continued dedication to the important work they do, despite recent hurdles,” said Shannon Gustafson, ACE senior director of operations and programming. “Time and time again, our industry (and our product) rises above the many obstacles in our path. We look forward to reinforcing that resolve with timely updates on the issues and innovations that matter most to their business.”
This year’s event is again hosting breakout sessions tailored to ethanol plant boards of directors. Christianson PLLP and K·Coe Isom will tag team a session providing board members with strategic thinking techniques and guidance on how to use those methods to steer their company’s future. Another discussion, led by Christianson, will provide workforce management insight to achieve a plant’s productivity and profitability goals, as well as a look at current standard practices regarding compensation and benefits with data collected from ethanol plants across the country. A second session led by K·Coe Isom will take a deep dive into some of the key provisions that will impact the ethanol industry in the comprehensive tax reform package.
A bulk of the panels are centered around ways ethanol plants can increase profitability and efficiency with new technology, coproducts and market opportunities. Two new ACE members Whitefox and Solenis will introduce producers to their unique technologies and TotalGEN Services will cover the revenue boosting factors of a CHP system installation at an ethanol plant. Diversification is another way plants can obtain additional profits, and this topic will be explored in Saola Energy LLC’s session on how to enhance corn oil to create renewable diesel and Fluid Quip Process Technologies’ presentation focusing on the global market demand for protein. A leading expert in low carbon fuel markets from EcoEngineers will also share his insights into developing a successful low carbon strategy to maximize the opportunity created by these markets.
A new breakout session added to this year’s lineup will provide attendees with a list of innovative ideas to try at their plant, workplace or community to build support for ethanol. A long-standing industry news editor and writer will lead this brainstorming session on how to strengthen ethanol’s image, which is critical for the fuel’s future.
Prospective attendees should register online by Aug. 1 to guarantee their spot.