Research Group Welcomes New President
After a nearly yearlong search, Dr. Sergio Nates has been named president and director of Technical Services of the Fats and Proteins Research Foundation (FPRF), replacing Dr. Gary Pearl who retired after 12 years of service to the rendering industry.
Prior to joining FPRF, Nates was vice president of research and technology at Zeigler Bros., Inc., a Pennsylvania specialty feed company providing products for aquaculture, exotic bird, reptile, and research animal diets. He is an internationally recognized expert in aquaculture who has experience managing research projects, written numerous technical papers for various audiences, worked with the Environmental Protection Agency, and monitored environmental impact studies. One of Nates’ primary responsibilities at FPRF will be working closely with the newly formed Animal Co-products Research and Education Center (ACREC) at Clemson University.
“Dr. Nates has the contacts, skills, and training to advance FPRF and the ACREC forward to meet the many challenges the industry faces, including biosecurity related issues, the development of new uses for rendered products, and maintenance of our traditional markets,” said FPRF Chairman Dr. Ross Hamilton, Darling International, Inc.
Nates’ appointment signals FPRF’s move to Alexandria, VA, where it will share offices with the National Renderers Association, allowing the two organizations to share expertise and insights on a daily basis. FPRF is now located at 801 N. Fairfax Street, Suite 205, Alexandria, VA 22314.
Nates can be reached at (703) 683-2914, or by e-mail at snates@nationalrenderers.com.
Renderer Receives British Honor
Doug Ward, past president, European Fat Processors and Renderers Association (EFPRA), was awarded a “Commander of the British Empire” for services to Scottish agriculture, a prestigious award given to recipients chosen by the Queen of England on advice of the prime minister, who receives recommendations by government ministers or members of the public.
In a career spanning 35 years in the meat and poultry industry, Ward is best known for the prominent role he has played in the rendering industry, working closely with all sectors of the meat and livestock industry. He has been managing director of rendering operations at William Forrest in Scotland since 1992. The plant has dealt with the majority of Scotland’s “over 30 month” cattle and played a central role during the foot and mouth crisis. Ward served for two years as vice president and two years as president of EFPRA, and also served as vice president of the World Renderers Organization from 1999 to 2001 and president from 2001 to 2003. He still serves on the council of both industry associations.
Since 1996, Ward has been instrumental in the development of Argent Energy, the United Kingdom’s first large scale biodiesel plant that converts tallow and used cooking oil into an environmentally-friendly fuel. As managing director, he has overseen the creation of the business, which began commercial operations in the spring of 2005.
“I am delighted and honored to receive this award and would like to thank the board of Argent and all of my colleagues at Forrest for their support, without which this would not have been possible,” said Ward. “I would also thank my many friends in the Scottish meat and livestock industry for their help and guidance over the years.”
In 1917, King George V created the Orders of the British Empire during World War I to reward services to the war effort by civilians at home and servicemen in support positions. The orders are now awarded primarily to civilians and service personnel for public service or other distinctions and have a military and a civil division. Ranks in the Order are Knight or Dame Grand Cross, Knight or Dame Commander, Commander, Officer, and Member.
Stanley Frank Passes
Long-time renderer Stanley Milton Frank passed away January 2, 2006. He was 91.
Frank was born in New York City and moved to Greensboro, NC, in January 1936 to work for rendering company Carolina By-Products. He became plant manager in May 1936, bought controlling interest in 1953, and chaired the company’s board of directors until 1988.
Frank was active in rendering organizations, serving as president of the National Renderers Association from 1968 to 1969 and as a founding board member and chairman of the Fats and Proteins Research Foundation.
Known as a strong advocate for education, Frank served as a trustee of Guilford College, Greensboro, NC, beginning in 1969, where he established the Frank Fellows Scholarship program in 1983. His long and continuous support was honored by Guilford College by naming the new science building the Frank Family Science Center in 2000. Frank was also a supporter and involved with other educational institutions and various sports groups.
Frank is survived by his wife, Dorothy, who he married in March 1939, and two sons, Barry and William. Memorial contributions can be made to the Frank Fellows Scholarship Fund at Guilford College.
Louisiana Home to New Feed Mill
Cargill Animal Nutrition has opened a new 140,000-ton capacity feed manufacturing facility in Lecompte, LA. The new mill will produce feed for the pet food, aquaculture, equine, beef, poultry, dairy, and wild game industries. Two separate extruders allow the mill to produce pet food and specialty aqua feeds at the same time.
Construction of the mill took nine months and was built on an adjacent lot to an older mill. The facility has 53,000 square feet of warehouse space, a 231-foot-tall tower, and 65 bins for grain, bulk ingredients, and finished feed.
San Luis Tallow Founder Passes
Serafino Joseph Martinelli, better known to his friends and family as “Fino,” passed away in October 2005 in San Luis Obispo, CA, three days before his 90th birthday.
Martinelli was born to Italian immigrants and worked in the family rendering business, Royal Tallow and Soap Company, in the San Francisco, CA, area until 1938, when he bought his own rendering operation in San Luis Obispo. He operated San Luis Tallow Company as well as other rendering plants owned by the Martinelli family in California, Nevada, and Washington.
Martinelli eventually relinquished control of San Luis Tallow to his two sons, Larry and Alfie, in the late 1960s, but remained active with rendering operations in the Tacoma, WA, area. He diversified his business interests throughout his rendering career by purchasing income properties as well as Les Davis Fish Tackle Company in Washington.
San Luis Tallow was sold to Salinas Tallow Company in 1991.
Poultry Litter Good for Cotton
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists report that cotton growers in the southeastern United States can deal with periodic droughts by using conservation tillage and fertilizing with poultry litter.
Agricultural engineer Dinku Endale and agroecosystems ecologist Harry Schomberg, both at the ARS J. Phil Campbell Sr. Natural Resource Conservation Center in Watkinsville, GA, conducted a study that found no-till cotton fertilized with poultry litter yielded 42 percent more than conventionally tilled cotton fertilized with ammonium nitrate. They found that using no-till practices alone increased yield by 33 percent over conventional tillage practices. According to Endale, many soils in the southeastern states have low water-holding capacity and form nearly impervious layers that restrict root growth.
ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific research agency.
Swift CFO to Leave
Danny C. Herron, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Swift and Company, has announced he will leave the company by September 19, 2006, the end of his current employment agreement. He has indicated he intends to pursue leadership opportunities outside of the second-largest processor of fresh beef and pork products.
Besides holding his present positions at the company since September 2002, Herron served as Swift’s co-chief executive officer from April to May 2005. He joined ConAgra Beef Company, Swift’s predecessor, in April 1998 as vice president and senior financial officer.
Alloy’s Past Owner Dies
William N. Aulik, owner of Alloy Hardfacing and Engineering Co., Inc., from 1958 until 1994, died January 18, 2006, at the age of 76.
Aulik began serving the rendering industry in the early 1960s, attending his first convention in 1965 and joining the National Renderers Association in 1968. Aulick retired from Alloy Hardfacing in 1994 after battling cancer, turning ownership of the company over to his son Mark.
Aulick is survived by four sons, Craig, Mark, Gary, and David, and numerous grandchildren.
Bird Flu Testing Launched
The National Chicken Council (NCC) has begun a testing program to ensure that chicken flocks and the food products produced from them are free of potentially hazardous forms of avian influenza (AI).
Under the NCC program, participating companies will take samples from each flock according to procedures approved by the National Poultry Improvement Plan, an existing federal/state cooperative program. Any flock found to have AI in the H5 or H7 types will be promptly and humanely destroyed on the farm and disposed of in an environmentally acceptable manner. None of the birds will be sent to the processing plant or otherwise enter the food chain. The H5N1 highly pathogenic form of AI has never occurred in the United States.
Only H5 and H7 are considered “notifiable” under the rules of the World Organization for Animal Health, or OIE, because they are the only types known to be capable of changing from the mild, low pathogenic form of the disease to the highly pathogenic form that causes widespread mortality in poultry.
BSE Detected in Canada
A fourth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was confirmed January 23, 2006, in a six-year-old cross-bred cow born and raised in Alberta, Canada. No part of the animal entered the human food or animal feed systems.
The finding was not unexpected and was identified through Canada’s national surveillance program, which has tested over 87,000 animals since 2003. The geographic location and age of this animal are consistent with the three Canadian cases previously detected. Updates on the investigation are available on Render’s Web site at www.rendermagazine.com.
Van Hoven Sr. Passes
Edward G. Van Hoven Sr. passed away January 16, 2006, in Bloomington, MN. He was 81.
From 1959 until 1979, Van Hoven served as president of the Van Hoven Company, a St. Paul, MN, rendering firm established in 1882. He was also an active member of the National Renderers Association and Fats and Proteins Research Foundation. Van Hoven Company was sold to The Anamax Group of Companies in 2003.
Van Hoven is survived by his wife of 61 years, Mary Jane, six children, 17 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.
February 2006 Render