Industry Says Farewell to Mahoney
James D. Mahoney, 75, founder and chairman of Mahoney Environmental, passed away on January 1, 2004. His wife of 55 years, June, four children, seven grandchildren, and one great granddaughter survive him.
Mahoney began his grease collection business in 1953 with his own truck in the streets of Chicago, IL. Early in his career, Mahoney developed and patented the Teal Barrel Body grease drum truck that saved labor by rotating 55 gallon drums along the route. In the early 1980s, Mahoney was one of the first in the industry to convert from drums to an outside bulk container system, and in 1982, he acquired Mendota Agri-Products, where the company’s raw materials are processed. Mahoney has been a long time member of the National Renderers Association and supporter of the Fats and Proteins Research Foundation.
Headquartered in Joliet, IL, Mahoney Environmental is today a 50-year-old family owned service business specializing in collection and recycling of restaurant cooking waste materials.
“James instilled by leadership example and personal commitment the qualities and family values which are reflected in the business that he founded,” commented his son John Mahoney.
Donations in Mahoney’s memory can be sent to Habitat for Humanity International, Attention: Gifts from the Heart, 121 Habitat Street, Americus, GA 31709-3423.
Renderer, Engineer Form Company
Baker Commodities, a renderer headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, and Superior Process Technologies, LLC, Minneapolis, MN, have formed a new company that will supply process engineering and plant design services for production of biodiesel, glycerine, basic oleochemicals, and animal and vegetable oil products. The new company, Superior Process Technologies, Inc., will continue to provide engineering, process design, and sales and marketing services out of its Minneapolis offices.
“We feel the new company will be very successful in the emerging biodiesel industry by leveraging Baker’s experience in fats and oils processing with Superior’s expertise in plant design and engineering,” stated James Andreoli, president, Baker Commodities.
Richard Jerome Passes
Richard Jerome, 62, president, Valley By-Products, El Paso, TX, passed away December 28, 2003, after a battle with cancer. His wife of 42 years, Virgie, sons Paul and Frank, daughter Natalie, sister Carole Silliman, cousins Richard T. Jerome and Judy Sederland, and numerous nieces and nephews survive him.
As a young man, Jerome began his 43-year rendering career in his family’s business, Baker Commodities. He worked at plants in Phoenix, AZ, and Albuquerque, NM, before settling down in the Texas panhandle where he spent 30 years operating various rendering companies. He moved to El Paso in November 1995, where he owned Valley By-Products.
Internment was held in Oak Hill Cemetery, Solvang, CA, where he was laid to rest near his uncle, Frank Jerome.
APHIS User Fees Amended
After receiving only one comment on a proposed rule, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) amended its user fee regulations to replace the flat rate annual user fees charged for the inspection and approval of pet food manufacturing, rendering, blending, digest, and spraying and drying facilities with user fees based on hourly rates for inspections and approval. The change took effect December 15, 2003.
Facilities that process or manufacture pet food ingredients or products for export, which include the above facilities, are required by the European Union (EU) and other foreign regions to be inspected and approved by APHIS. According to APHIS, the amount of time needed to complete the inspection processes that are required by the EU varies widely between pet food facilities, even facilities of the same type, and charging a flat rate user fee would thus be inequitable, as facility operators whose facilities could be inspected in a relatively short amount of time would, in effect, be subsidizing facility operators whose facilities required inspections of greater length. The new hourly rate user fee will allow APHIS to charge facilities an appropriate amount for the labor expended in inspecting and approving the facilities, to recover the costs of any re-inspections that may be required, and give APHIS more flexibility should the requirements of importing countries for inspection and approval change in the future.
APHIS will use the hourly and premium hourly rate user fees listed in Code of Federal Regulations 9, Part 130, Section 130.30. The previous flat rate user fee of $404.75 for an initial inspection and approval is the equivalent of approximately five hours at the hourly rate, which APHIS found is about half the time it took to approve some facilities. Therefore, the total user fees charged under the hourly rate could be greater than the flat rate for inspection services. However, APHIS does not expect these changes in fees to significantly impact users since, even at the higher levels, the fees represent a very small portion of the value of shipments from these facilities.
The final rule amending the fees is available on the Internet at www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
Biodiesel Board Elects Leadership
In November, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) put in place its first governing board, elected from NBB’s 53 voting members. NBB membership has more than doubled in the last two years, signifying the burgeoning of biodiesel in the United States. NBB members elected South Dakota soybean farmer Robert Metz to serve as chairman for the third year in a row.
“I feel very positive about the way we have restructured our organization to ensure that farmers, fuel suppliers, and other stakeholders are represented,” said Metz. “NBB is the voice of the biodiesel industry. I firmly believe that staying united will result in a strong, successful industry.” Metz is a farmer representing the South Dakota Research and Promotion Council.
Other governing board officers elected are Gary Haer, vice chairman, representing West Central Soy, a biodiesel supplier based in Ralston, IA; Fred Wellons, secretary, representing Baker Commodities, a biodiesel supplier based in Los Angeles, CA; and John Heisdorffer, treasurer, a farmer representing the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board.
Additional governing members elected are:
• Darryl Brinkmann, a farmer representing the American Soybean Association
• John Campbell, representing Ag Environmental Products, a division of Ag Processing, Inc., a biodiesel fuel supplier based in Sergeant Bluff, IA
• Bob Clark, representing Imperial Western Products, a biodiesel supplier based in Indio, CA
• Gene Gebolys, representing World Energy, a biodiesel supplier based in Chelsea, MA
• Michael Langenhorst, representing Anamax, a biodiesel supplier based in Green Bay, WI
• Jeff Nelson, representing Stepan Company, a biodiesel supplier based in Northfield, IL
• Jerry Osterholt, a farmer representing the Indiana Soybean Board
• Richard Prascher, representing the Nebraska Soybean Board
• Peter Reimers, representing ADM, a multinational conglomerate producing biodiesel in Europe
• Robert Stobaugh, a farmer representing the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board
• David Womack, a farmer representing the Tennessee Soybean Promotion Board
Informa Group Acquires Sparks
Informa Group, PLC, a business information group, has acquired the Sparks Companies, Inc., a global research, information, and consulting firm to the worldwide agriculture and food industry. Sparks, headquartered in Memphis, TN, will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Informa.
Founded in 1977, Sparks will join Informa’s AGRA division, which includes Agra Europe, Agra CEAS Consulting, Agra USA, Inc., Agra Heighway, and F.O. Licht, creating an international network of services and clients with offices in the United States, Canada, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Germany.
New Rules for Truckers
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s new hours-of-service regulations for truck drivers took effect on January 4, 2004. The final rule, published in the April 28, 2003, Federal Register and revised by technical amendments published on September 30, represents the first major rewrite of the hours-of-service regulations in more than 60 years.
The new hours-of-service rules allow property-carrying commercial drivers to drive 11 hours (compared to the previous 10 hours) after 10 consecutive hours off duty (compared with eight hours previously). Also under the new rule, drivers may not drive beyond the 14th hour after coming on duty (compared to 15 hours previously) following 10 hours off duty. Similar to existing rules, drivers may not drive after 60 hours on duty within a consecutive seven-day period or 70 hours on duty in a consecutive eight-day period. However, drivers may restart a seven/eight consecutive day period after taking 34 or more consecutive hours off duty.
Beginning January 4, state and federal officials are expected to spend the first 60 days waging an aggressive education campaign and only enforcing egregious violations. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has asked states to write warnings instead of citations for all but flagrant violations. State officials are also being encouraged by FMCSA to use every stop in the first 60 days as an opportunity to educate drivers about the new rules.
The American Trucking Association and the American Automobile Association support the new regulation. The truck drivers union and certain consumer and safety groups, such as Public Citizen, wanted a more restrictive rule.
Detailed information about the new rules is available on the Internet at www.fmcsa.dot.gov/home_files/revised_hos.asp.
Novus Raises Ethoxyquin Prices
Effective January 5, 2004, Novus International, Inc., increased the price of ethoxyquin-based products by 15-cents per kilo for liquid and 13-cents per kilo for dry. Novus will honor all existing contracts. These products include Santoquin feed preservative, QuinGuard feed preservative, and Agrado feed preservative.
PFI’s Walden Retires; Jewell Steps In
After 25 years of service, Dale Walden has retied from the Pet Food Institute (PFI). Replacing her is Carol Jewell. In her position, Jewell will be responsible for the administration of PFI’s Market Access Program, which helps U.S. producers, exporters, private companies, and other trade organizations finance promotional activities for U.S. agricultural products. Jewell will also be responsible for managing the association’s membership, finances, and annual convention. Prior to joining PFI last July, Jewell was a program administrator with the Regional Airline Association.
Restaurant Growth in 2004
According to the National Restaurant Association’s 2004 Restaurant Industry Forecast, the U.S. restaurant and foodservice industry remains strong and is projected to reach a record $440.1 billion in sales this year, a growth of 4.4 percent over 2003. Driven by customers’ need for convenience, socialization, and increased disposal income, the number of restaurant locations in the United States is expected to reach 878,000.
The top regions in terms of sales growth remain in the south and west, which have the fastest growing local economies and are expected to post growth in disposal income and population, two important indicators of growth for restaurant sales. Specifically, the mountain region (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) will again lead the United States with a projected restaurant sales growth of 6.1 percent. The east north central region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin) is projected to register sales growth of 3.8 percent in 2004, the slowest of the nine regions.
On the state level, Nevada is expected to lead the nation with 6.8 percent sales growth. Arizona follows closely with 6.5 percent growth, with Utah coming in third at 6.2 percent. The District of Columbia (3.4 percent) and Hawaii (3.5 percent) are projected to show the lowest growth in sales, associated with the continued weakness in tourism.
Other highlights of the forecast:
• The restaurant industry posted a solid employment growth rate of 1.2 percent in 2003, with an estimated 12 million people being employed by the industry in 2004.
• Projected sales in 2004 will equal four percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.
• This year will mark the 13th consecutive year of real growth for the restaurant industry.
• Sales at full service restaurants is expected to grow by 4.6 percent with sales at limited service or quick service restaurants – defined as those chain and independent establishments without waitstaff service – expected to increase by 3.9 percent.
In its 34th year, the National Restaurant Association’s 2004 Restaurant Industry Forecast provides an annual projection for the restaurant and foodservice industry as a whole and among a variety of industry segments. The association defines the restaurant and foodservice industry as that which includes all meals and snacks freshly prepared away from home, including takeout meals and beverages. The full forecast is available on the Internet at www.restaurant.org.
Teens Lauded for Research
Research that may lead to a better understanding of how diseases like bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) destroy the brain and how the West Nile virus spreads were among discoveries by high school students honored at a national science contest in December.
Yin Li, a 17-year-old senior from New York City’s Stuyvesant High School, won $100,000 in scholarship money for studying how a protein from a mouse’s brain reproduced itself when inserted in yeast cells, advancing the understanding of neurological diseases like BSE or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Volunteering to work on the project in the laboratory of Nobel Prize-winner Eric Kandel after being inspired by his study on brain cells, memory, and learning, Li was among 19 high school students from around the United States who received prizes in the Siemens Westinghouse annual competition out of more than 1,000 who entered.
Mark Schneider, 18, and his brother, Jeffrey Schneider, 16, will share $100,000 as winners of the team category for advancing ways to understand the spread of West Nile virus. They were inspired to look at mosquitoes because the youngest of the brothers from South Windsor High School in Connecticut was especially susceptible to being bitten. They looked at the factors affecting the transmission and reproduction of the virus using a computer program.
One of their main findings is that drought actually helps proliferate the virus, said Mark Schneider. His theory is that under drought conditions, mosquitoes and their predators live in separate water pools. The predators are therefore less likely to eat the mosquitoes and keep the population under control.
Other prize winners included Arun Thottumkara, a 17-year-old Macomb, IL, senior who was inspired by the bad smell in his father’s laboratory to find ways of producing environment-friendly chemical compounds. Sean Mehra and Jeffrey Reitman, 17-year-olds from Jericho, NY, were recognized for work with molecules that can be used as lubricants in space-based machinery or in making computer chips.
Tyson Foods Expands One Plant, Closes Two Others
A major renovation is planned for the Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Dakota City, NE, while facilities in Manchester, NH, and Augusta, ME, will be closing in early February.
The multi-million dollar renovation project in Dakota City involves construction of a new beef processing addition and other improvements that will strengthen the plant’s long-term viability. The facility was the first beef processing facility ever constructed by IBP, now known as Tyson Fresh Meats. Three processing rooms were built within the plant during the mid to late 1960s as demand for boxed beef grew.
A new 84,500 square foot, two-story addition will be built on the east side of the Dakota City plant to house the new processing operation as well as a cooler, shipping docks, and a box shop. Ergonomically designed work stations will be installed as part of the project to enhance worker safety and health. The addition will connect with the company’s four-story office building. Work on the improvement project is expected to begin in early 2004 with completion scheduled for fall 2005. The Dakota City plant is involved in carcass beef production and beef processing, as well as hide processing and tanning.
As for the closures, the company determined that the amount of capital required to bring the Manchester plant, built in 1933, to a competitive level and to maintain appropriate food safety standards would be better spent to accommodate production in newer, more modern facilities. The Manchester facility employs approximately 550 and primarily produces sandwich meat.
February 2004 Render