ADM and Provimi

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Hey All,

This morning we woke up to find out that our tour of the ADM Europoort
facility had been cancelled due to industrial action by the union
workers at the plant.  To top this off, management were able to deliver
perfect Dutch weather; plenty of rain and wind driving in off the North
Sea.  The whole group had been anticipating this visit for the entire
semester.  Those of us who have visited the Brazil port terminal had
been waiting for this moment for over a year!  As a result, a dejected
group headed out of Rotterdam back towards the middle of the
Netherlands not looking forward to a day of lectures and hotel
conference rooms. We were able to meet with Henk Kant, the commercial
manager at the site, and Kees Oomen, a soybean meal merchandiser.  Mr.
Kant spoke to us about ADM Europoort operations, the future of the
biodiesel industry, and also global market structure.  Our moods
brightened during the lectures as the dreary weather was broken up by
intermittent periods of sunshine.  After starting the day on a rough
note, our day turned out great since the lectures were amazing!  It was
a great networking opportunity for students as ADM is a main sponsor
for the IBIP.  We were able to talk with the ADM managers over an
amazing lunch and then headed to the bus for our next visit.

The last stop for the day was Provimi Company.  Provimi is a global company
that concentrates on animal nutrition and has locations on six
continents.  The research facility we visited specialized in nutrition
for dairy cattle, chickens, and pigs.  Mr. Gijs Bernouw, a head
researcher and our host for the day, kept us on our toes with his dry
sense of humor.  After a short presentation, Gijs herded us into the
changing room where we changed into size XXL white body suits and
rubber boots.  In our astronaut-like biosecure outfits, we toured the
commercial research farm and learned about the differences between
industry driven research and academic research.  Even though we smelled
like hog manure, we boarded the close quarters of the bus and headed
for Gent, the college town where we will be spending the next three
days.

On a side note, we are really enjoying our bus driver, Jugo.  In addition
to safely maneuvering the bus through the tiny cobblestone streets of
Belgium and traffic jams of the Netherlands, he also found a place to
empty out the completely full bus toilet.

Cheers!

Lydia, Maria, Jennifer, and Allan

Posted by IBIP Administrator