David Kaluzny II, Kaluzny Bros, Inc., woke up attendees with a little stand-up comedy, including a few excuses employees have given him for coming to work late or not coming to work at all:
• “I tripped over my dog and knocked myself unconscious.”
• “I forgot what day it was.”
• “My brain fell asleep and I couldn’t wake it up.”
Kaluzny reminded everyone that, “There’s always a little humor in life if we just take time to look for it.”
The entertainment continued with Michael Holloway, NCH Corporation, providing an interactive presentation on system conditioning for increased bearing, gearbox, and hydraulic system reliability. He said how efficiently equipment runs and how long it lasts depends on three factors: controlling deposits/contaminants both externally and internally; using the best lubricant; and changing the oil at the right time by doing an oil analysis.
Holloway explained that lubricants can breakdown and form deposits for many reasons, such as inferior base oil, yellow metals (e.g., copper, brass, bronze), water (e.g., condensation), caustics and solvents, poor oil performance, heat, acids, and solid contaminants. He recommended flushing equipment regularly because not all the old oil is removed when drained, running the risk of tainting the fresh oil.
Advanced oil lubrication technology was addressed next, where Holloway enlisted the help of renderers who were willing to get their hands dirty. Four brave souls tested two different greases to determine their water solubility, while four more individuals compared how several greases handled contaminants, with one product able to actually break them down. Holloway also gave a brief history lesson in the development of greases, beginning with the first products in the early 1900s using coal dust to thicken the crude oil. In the 1940s, greases were thickened with lithium soap, and in the 1960s, bentonite clay was used as a thickening agent. In the 1980s, aluminum complex greases were developed, and today, calcium sulfonate greases are used.
Dr. David Meeker, vice president, NRA Scientific Services, and president, Animal Protein Producers Industry (APPI), discussed quality improvement in rendering, something renderers should consider a top priority for four reasons: public image, customer expectations, government regulations, and profitability. He talked about the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) development of a comprehensive, risk-based Animal Feed Safety System describing how animal feeds (individual ingredients and mixed feeds) should be manufactured, distributed, and used to minimize risks to humans and animals from unsafe animal feed.
“I have some real trouble on the appropriateness of government regulators being in the business of doing process control, but they are planning, nonetheless, to come out with a feed safety system in 2007 that would dictate process control,” Meeker commented. “They’re aiming at ingredient makers, feed manufacturers, and so forth. We’ll be discussing with them [FDA] in the future the appropriateness of them doing that but also making the case that the industry can educate and improve itself and we don’t really need the FDA to do that sort of activity.”
Dominic Susin, Industrial Steam, wrapped up the morning session with a talk on how high-pressure condensate systems can save renderers money. He explained that high-pressure condensate, which is the same temperature as steam, comes directly from the rendering process and is loaded with energy. Systems available include a trap system and pumping system. Susin emphasized that the condensate should flow freely from the cooker.
Holloway returned to the podium after lunch to explain new approaches in equipment maintenance management. He said there are five maintenance approaches:
• Breakdown maintenance – something breaks, it gets fixed;
• Preventive maintenance – periodic component replacement;
• Predictive maintenance – monitoring vibration, heat, alignment, wear debris, oil analysis, etc.;
• Proactive maintenance – monitoring and correction of failing root causes (e.g., contamination) using predictive techniques to set maintenance protocols;
• Reliability centered maintenance – determine what must be done to ensure that equipment continues to operate at peak efficiency constantly.
“At the end of the day, you really have to sit back and say where are we, what are we doing?” explained Holloway. “By taking it [equipment maintenance] to the next level, even though it may be painful to start out with, you’re going to increase equipment reliability and hopefully increase profitability.” He encouraged renderers to consider implementing a failure mode and effects analysis, or FMEA, method, which examines the costly repetitive equipment failures and what can be done to stop them, or using a software program that tracks when and what repairs were performed on the plant’s equipment. Holloway offered a sample copy of a software program he is developing that will aid renderers in their equipment maintenance.
Bethany Hahn, Minnesota Board of Animal Health, described current activities involving the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) National Animal Identification System (NAIS). When fully operational, the NAIS will be capable of tracing a sick animal or groups of animals back to the herd of premises that is the most likely source of infection. At present, NAIS is voluntary and all animals will eventually have to be identified, including equine.
Hahn explained there are three phases to the NAIS:
• Phase I – identify and register livestock premises (anticipated being complete by 2006);
• Phase II – identify and register individual or group animals (anticipated being complete by 2007);
• Phase III – establish mandatory premises registration and animal identification/tracking component (estimated around January 2009).
Minnesota has formed a steering committee, which, to the surprise of attendees, did not include a renderer, and received $435,000 in state funding to begin implementing the NAIS in the state. To date, 35,000 registration cards have been mailed to known livestock producers, with 11,000 returned so far. Approximately 5,000 of those have been assigned a “premises identification number,” which is a unique seven digit alphanumeric number provided by USDA to each location, or premises, involved in animal agriculture. This number will not change when a property is sold. Following identification of premises, an animal identification number, or an optional group/lot identification number for some species, will then be assigned and follow the animal(s) throughout its lifetime. Any animal(s) entering the United States from other countries will be subject to the same identification procedure. USDA will be working with each state’s and tribe’s animal health authority to identify as many premises as possible.
Hahn clarified that the individual “receiving” the animal is responsible for reporting the animal identification number to the state or USDA, which led to several questions from renderers about their involvement in the program.
“For folks such as yourself that deal with dead animals, eventually the goal would be that you would report to us when an animal came on your place, using the radio frequency ID tag, that the animal is deceased,” Hahn commented. “Some of this technology, specifically what equipment you should have, or what technology we should help you receive so you can get us that information, is kind of unknown and a little bit in the future, but that’s eventually how we think that you folks will be involved.”
One renderer shared his experience with producers who are reluctant to partake in the NAIS because of concerns that the information will be used against them, such as for tax purposes. Hahn reassured attendees that USDA is only collecting a minimal amount of information – farm name, address, phone number, any additional sites, and type of livestock on premises – for its NAIS database.
“The reason we even need to know what species of livestock a premises has is that certain diseases only affect certain species of livestock,” she explained. “We don’t need to know how many animals you have – we don’t want to know – and, furthermore, it’s not going to be used for tax purposes. This information will hopefully sit in a database somewhere and not even have to be accessed.
“We just need to be prepared if there is ever any disease, that we can track it,” Hahn summed up.
Craig Nilsson, Nilsson, Inc., introduced attendees to several on-board weight and data management systems, one of which is currently being used by Illinois renderer Kaluzny Bros., Inc. He explained that on-board scales allow the truck to operate at its designed capacity and at the legal load limit. Another advantage of on-board scales is to identify and monitor individual loads, thus providing the opportunity to implement a weight-based rate service charge in place of volume based.
Nilsson presented information on several types of scale systems – load cells, transducers, and dynamic wire systems – and their benefits and drawbacks. He discouraged using load cell systems on trucks because it uses pressure and the torquing of the truck’s movement tends to wear the system out. As for transducers, Nilsson recommended using a ceramic diaphragm, and said the dynamic wire system is very simple to install.
The day finished up with an engaging and amusing presentation by renowned turkey hunter Dick “Walking Eagle” Alford. He shared his tales of hunting and observing wild turkeys over the past 30 years, including how he brings a tom up close and personal. Alford explained that turkey’s can see and hear very well, don’t like change, and “have a nervous system like a squirrel.” His display of beards and feathers brought awe from the attendees.
The convention continued the following day with the business meeting, beginning with Gary Pearl, Fats and Proteins Research Foundation (FPRF), reminding everyone that veterinarian and animal science schools are filled with non-agricultural students, with 80 percent of them women.
“The challenge is to educate them on the value of animal by-products,” Pearl commented. With his impending retirement looming, he thanked the group for their support over his 12 years as FPRF president.
“It has always been a pleasure to represent the rendering industry,” Pearl concluded.
Meeker returned with a report on the requirements of the bioterrorism act and the possible implications of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spill prevention act (see "Tech Topics"), which was intended for the petroleum industry but currently as written applies to fat tanks. He said EPA has not yet released separate guidelines for food products (e.g., yellow grease, butter fat, tallow, ice cream).
NRA President Tom Cook provided an update on an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) issued last year by the FDA and several other government agencies on additional measures under consideration related to animal feed to help prevent the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
“We don’t know when, or if, a rule is going to come out,” he explained. “I think NRA’s comments to the ANPR are being taken seriously by the policymakers.”
It was reported that this year’s attendance, at 95, is one of the largest in recent years. Dan Tarpley, HRR Enterprises, Inc., encouraged the group to contact their regional political leaders and persuade reopening the Canadian border. The group then chose to donate $3,500 per year for the next two years to Dr. Don Franco’s biosecurity center, and inducted Pearl as an honorary lifetime member of the Central Region.
New Central Region officers were then installed, with Charlie Beard, National By-Products, LLC, moving up to president, John Setchell, Mendota Agri-Products, Inc., becoming vice president, and George Kaluzny, Kaluzny Bros., Inc., elected as new secretary/treasurer.
Next year’s convention is scheduled for June 7-9, 2006, in Galena, IL.
August 2005 Render