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Post FEW energy

Posted: June 21, 2010 at 12:03 PM CST

Every person I talked to last week in St. Louis said the mood was definitely more upbeat than last year’s International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo. There were more producers in attendance and exhibitors were pleased with the show. The educational sessions were well-attended with good presenters and good questions. As one of my bosses at BBI said, it had the feel of an event that is growing—not in decline, not even flat-lining. As the largest event pulling together ethanol producers and industry, comments like these are a good indicator of the industry outlook.

I do have to razz ethanol producers a bit, though, after participating in the Anheuser Busch event on Wednesday evening. You guys have to class up your act if you’re going to give people tours of your ethanol plants. You need to have a few huge portraits of your founders on the walls and a chandelier or two, along with wrought iron railings, tiled floors, brick facings on the buildings and landscaped flower gardens. There was only a whiff of the familiar smells in the air that would reveal it was a working brewery. Yes, the paintings and chandeliers and fancy tiling and railings were in the interior of the plant. (Along with large clear glass or plexiglass panels to allow a clear view, but provide a barrier to keep tourists from touching or throwing anything into working areas.) The show stables of the famous Clydesdale horses had their own crystal chandeliers, tiled floors, polished brass and paintings on the walls. It did smell of horses, but nary a sign (or smell) of manure.

At the networking event, complete with food and a selection of beer, one of those work horses stood patiently for hours while nearly everyone in attendance had their picture taken alongside the well-groomed steed. I suspect the pampered horse’s legs held up better for his/her photographic duties than mine did traipsing around the convention center.

Needless to say, Luke and Holly and I came home with notebooks full of notes and a list of story ideas. Look for our coverage of the event in the August issue. With around 140 presenters, we obviously won’t be able to cover them all, but we’ll hit the highlights. Next year’s FEW is scheduled for June 27-30, in Indianapolis, Ind.

-Susanne Retka Schill