For the third year in a row, IBT has been an exhibitor at the International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo (FEW). This year it was held at America's Center in St. Louis, Missouri from June 26 through June 29.

With more than 5,000 attendees and over 700 exhibitors, the show was by far the largest ever. It has increased by at least fifty percent since last year and has approximately doubled since it was held in Kansas City in 2005.

IBT has a number of operating ethanol plants in its customer base. Additionally, the central Midwest seems to offer rich potential for future plant development.

Regional Manager Tom Zerger is captaining IBT's efforts in the ethanol industry. "We continue to be pleased with our potential in the marketplace and are excited about the future. Each new plant has great need of what we sell: replacement parts for their machinery, consumable safety items, tools, material handling equipment and conveyors as well. As the industry expands and ethanol gains greater prominence in fuel supplies, we see a lot of opportunity for IBT."

IBT's booth featured safety equipment, bearings, motors and gear boxes, catalog literature and the Ethanol 101 and Biodiesel 101 videos.

The new Harley-Davidson® hard hats, welding helmets, and work gloves were attention getters, as were the renewable fuel videos.

IBT has already reserved its booth space for 2008. The 24th Annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo: Linking Industry & Innovation will be held June 16-19, 2008 at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

The show was presented by BBI International, a company that has several strong horses in the biofuels industry race. They publish several magazines (Ethanol Producer, Biodiesel, Biomass, Distillers Grains Quarterly), create maps and industry directories, consult on the development of biofuels projects, and help develop the industry's events from minor gatherings to major assemblages.

BBI also is noteworthy for its commitment to "green." This year's event was greener than ever. As the company states:

 "BBI International is dedicated to operating our entire company and all of our events with a zero-waste and carbon neutral mission. Our main goals are to reduce waste, replace non earth-friendly items with sustainable ones, and educate others on how they can do the same. By focusing on the 4 R's of Sustainability - Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - BBI International aims to leave the smallest footprint possible both where we operate and wherever we go."

Some of the ways they accomplished that for FEW St. Louis included:

• Expo Hall carpet made with 50% recycled material.
• On-site printing stations stocked with 100% post-consumer recycled paper.
• Literature printed with New Leaf Reincarnation Matte and New Leaf Sakura 100, paper saved: 85 full grown trees, 19,538 gallons of water, 40 million BTU of energy.
• Hotel shuttle service, golf tournament transportation, and other offsite event transportation used biodiesel fuel.
• Waste reclamation recycling centers for glass, bottles, plastic, aluminum, paper, and cardboard in use throughout the event.

To see technical papers and presentations from FEW, visit BBI's FEW 2007 Complete Program. 

To talk to IBT about ethanol, contact Tom Zerger.