August 10, 2007

News worthy items to note:

--Ed Recker our Project Manager did a fantastic job keeping the project on schedule.  He worked well with construction crews while meeting the daily demand of various agencies.  Ed's last day was June 27^th.  He has taken a much needed vacation before assuming his new responsibilities as a Project Coordinator supervising various crane crews in the Cedar Rapids area.

--27 of the 29 Western Dubuque Biodiesel associates have successfully completed their classroom training and job shadowing at other Iowa biodiesel plant locations.  They are onsite working very diligently to become familiar with our plant and make quality product for sale.

  Daniel operating the Biodiesel side

 Bob operating the pre treat process

--Western Dubuque Biodiesel has officially become a member of the National Biodiesel Board.  Craig Breitbach and Tom Brooks returned from Washington, D.C. where they met with Iowa legislators and their staff members.  They discussed vital legislation that will impact our industry for years to come and help to facilitate future profits for our facility.

Investor Open House was held on July 7, 2007.  500 plus investors, associates, and family members braved long lines and the brutal heat to tour the facilities.  Several WDB associates served as guides and shared information about the facility.  Thanks to Board Director Joyce Jarding for her planning and organization of this event.  Her involvement, along with help from Dave O’Brien, Craig Breitbach, Alan Manternach, Denny Mauser, and Bill Horan, this event was a huge success.

 --Plant construction stayed on schedule and we began production startup the last week of July.

 Alan Manternach Load out Supervisor

--Raw material for the first 90 days of production has begun to arrive via rail.  50 cars have been off loaded into our storage tanks on site, with 80 more in storage near Manchester.   We have produced 400,000 gallons of Biodiesel Fuel as of today.

Earlier today Katie Wiedeman
(reporter for KCRG-TV 9 ABC News)
 Interviews the General Manager, Tom  and Shift Lead, Sadie.

– Interviews were aired Friday August 10, 2007 @ 6:00 p.m.

Update April 20, 2007

 Construction of our 30 million gallon per year Biodiesel facility is right on schedule, we have had good weather this winter for construction and an excellent contractor and group of subcontractors doing the work.

Interviews are going well and the quality of applicant responses has been overwhelming.  Western Dubuque associates should begin work on May 24^th with a day or two of local orientation and six weeks of classroom and on the job training at another facility followed by two weeks of on site training and startup preparation.( prior to the plant startup.)  We are targeting August 1, 2007 as our official startup date.

 Tom Brooks was recently selected as the general manager of Western Dubuque Biodiesel plant in Farley, Iowa.  Tom will oversee and optimize biodiesel production and act as a liaison to the board of directors.  He will coordinate relationships with vendors, contractors, and the staff of Western Dubuque Biodiesel.  He will also oversee environmental, safety, and quality compliance.

 Tom comes to us from Delaware, where he served as the General Manager of Production and Administration for Perdue AgriRecycle.  Tom served with Perdue Farms in Florida and Delaware for five years, served as the General Manager for several locations while at Griffin Industries in Tampa, Florida.  He is also a veteran of the US Air Force where he served as an officer with various responsibilities.

Tom graduated from Texas A&M with a bachelor of sciences degree in 1984.  He is married with three children.  His wife, Kelly, and their 13 & 11 year old children will be joining Tom when school is out and the house has sold in DE.  Tom and Kelly are originally from Cynthiana, Ky.

Tom said he was honored with the faith and trust given to him by the Western Dubuque Board and REG with this position.  He serves at the pleasure of the board and REG.  

I am excited to be a part of an established winning organization, REG, which is about quality in all they do from their people to their products.  I look forward to building a winning team in Farley and am thankful for the kindness and support already received.  It is my desire to be a good steward of WDBs people, products, and profitability.

Mike Chandler has been selected as the Operations Manager for Western Dubuque Biodiesel and was approved by the board on Thursday March 29^th and assumed his duties the next day.

A graduate of Central Michigan University with a bachelor of sciences degree, Mike has spent the past 21 years working in the Pet Food Industry.  He started his career working in the family business producing pre-mix and special blends for the pet food industry. Mike then went on to manage manufacturing facilities for Doane Pet Care.  During his career with Doane he managed dry pet food, canning and biscuit manufacturing facilities.  Most recently Mike was the Production Manager for Nutro Products Inc.  The company was constructing a new 500,000 sq/ft automated facility in Victorville, California to replace a much smaller and older out of date facility.  Mikes responsibilities included recruiting, training and transitioning employees for the new facility.  He also participated in the physical construction of the plant and development of the control systems.

Mike was born on Kankakee Illinois but his family originated in Alta Iowa and he still has many relatives in the region.  Mike is 38 years old, married with one son and another child due in October.  His wife's name is Amy and his son is Hayden.  They hope to be relocated to the area within the next few months.  

I would like to thank the board members and all of the investors for entrusting me with the operation of the plant and allowing me the opportunity to be a part of this project.