|
Company Management Prairie Gold, Inc. is located in Bloomington, Illinois and has the following management positions filled:
Philip Shane, President and CEO Mr. Shane has been the Market Development Director for the Illinois Corn Marketing Board (ICMB) and the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA) since 1993 and in this capacity has led the development of the COPE process and formation of the Prairie Gold business. Mr. Shane has shown exceptional commitment to the Prairie Gold business and is knowledgeable of the technical requirements and hurdles of the process, as well as, the opportunities and potential customers on the market side. Mr. Shane is highly experienced in agricultural production, processes and markets, particularly pertaining to corn, and has been a leader in the development of the dry-mill corn ethanol industry. During his tenure at the ICMB, Mr. Shane successfully organized and managed multiple research, education, public relations, and market development programs. Throughout this period, the ICMB invested $7.5 million in over 50 corn utilizations projects, including $1.65 million toward the production of zein from corn. Prior to joining ICMB/ICGA, Mr. Shane was a partner and general manager of a farming operation in Illinois. He holds a Masters degree in agricultural economics from the University of Illinois and is a graduate of the Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow (ALOT) program and a recipient of the IAA Foundation Foreign Trade Scholarship. In 2002, Mr. Shane was selected to co-author a comprehensive study entitled “The Economic Potential for Ethanol Production Expansion in Illinois” for a combination of state and federal agencies, and in 2004 he also co-authored a paper for the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) entitled “Penetrating the Commercial Marketplace with Bio-energy”. Mr. Shane served for five years as an advisor to the Biomass Technical Advisory Committee for USDA and for USDOE. Mr. Shane has been directly responsible for obtaining the state and federal grants which have funded much of the development of the COPE process over the years, including the Value-Added Producer Grant from the USDA for $288,975 that will fund much of the start-up costs of Prairie Gold. Adam Funk; Acting Chief Financial Officer Mr. Funk is a partner in the accounting firm of Dunbar, Breitweiser & Company, LLP. The company, located in Bloomington, Illinois, has a staff of 28 members and provides entrepreneurial professional CPA services and solutions for complicated audit, tax, and business problems. Since 1967, the firm has used its capabilities to help both U.S. and international clients. Prior to joining Dunbar, Breitweiser in 1987, Mr. Funk worked as a certified public accountant for Arthur Andersen and Company in Chicago, Ill. Mr. Funk received his Bachelor of Science degree from Illinois State University in December of 1981 and earned his certificate of Certified Public Accountants in May of 1982. Ankur Patel, On-Site Project Engineer Mr. Patel will be the on-site Project Engineer. He has been with Prairie Gold since November 2008. He has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville with a minor in Mathematics. Prior to joining PGI, he was the Lead Operator and a Graduate Assistant Intern (June 2007 to November 2008) at the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center, Edwardsville, IL. He conducted daily plant operations, assisted with Workforce Development & Training programs, trained all new interns on plant equipment operation, including CIP systems, conducted trials for clients and designed new liquefaction systems. He was a Student Ambassador (2005-2007) at the Student Success Center, SIUE., where he worked with donors to bring in funds from major corporations, collaborated with Mackey Mitchell & Associates to design a green building that was student-friendly, gathered support from student organizations, student government, SIU Board of Trustees, Faculty Senate, Staff Senate and various other committees for the new $16 million, 37,000 square foot building and developed a fee structure through Student Government to support the facility. He is a four-time recipient of the SIUE Outstanding Student Leader award. Board of Directors: Including Mr. Shane, there are six board members:
Roger Hubele, Chairman Mr. Hubele became a director of the Illinois Corm Marketing Board in 1996 where he served several years on the Research and Commercialization committee. In 2002, Mr. Hubele became Chairman of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board. In his role at the ICMB, he has been intimately involved and highly supportive of the development of COPE and Prairie Gold. Mr. Hubele farms 2100 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat in Illinois. He has traveled to Brazil, Hong Kong, and Taiwan to promote corn and distillers dried grains, and he holds an investment in an ethanol production facility. John Kuhfuss Mr. Kuhfuss is currently the President of the Illinois Corn Growers Association. He has been a director on the ICGA board since 1999. Mr. Kuhfuss has extensive lobbying experience on both the state and national level and has served on the National Corn Growers Association’s trade policy task force for two years and has traveled to Mexico on behalf of Illinois corn growers. He has been involved with Farm Bill negotiations and the appropriation process for new locks and dams on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. Mr. Kuhfuss was also instrumental in launching Novecta, a specialized training and certification entity that provides education and quality assurance of production practices for growers and industry. Mr. Kuhfuss farms approximately 1000 acres of corn and soybeans in central Illinois. Kenneth Greene Mr. Greene has represented his district as a director on the Illinois Corn Marketing Board since 2000. In 2001 he was chairman of the Research and Commercialization committee where he helped develop projects related to the COPE process. In 2002 Mr. Greene served as Vice-Chairman of the organization, and in 2003 he became Chairman of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board. During his leadership, he assisted in the licensing of the COPE process from the University of Illinois. Mr. Greene has traveled extensively overseas in support of marketing Illinois commodities, especially corn and distillers dried grains. He currently holds a board position on the U.S. Grains Council, Durand State Bank, and Novecta. Mr. Greene farms 1200 acres of corn and soybeans and raises swine and cattle. He is part owner in a forty-five million gallon ethanol plant and is involved in local activities. Timothy Lenz Mr. Lenz is currently serving on the Prairie National Bank board of directors and the Illinois Corn Growers Association board of directors. He is a past agricultural loan officer of the Shelby County State Bank where he administered a $12,000,000 loan portfolio and managed over 4000 acres for absentee owners. Mr. Lenz held ownership in a feed mill located at Strasburg, Illinois, raising annual revenue from $250,000 to over $480,000 when he sold out of the business. He farms 2400 acres in south central Illinois and tends to a 100 head beef cow operation. Advisory Committee The advisory committee is currently comprised of four individuals that have been chosen for their experience in critical areas for the company.
Dr. Munir Cheryan; Professor, Food and Biochemical Engineering, University of Illinois Dr. Cheryan is the inventor of the COPE process. He is an internationally recognized expert on membrane technology with over 25 years experience developing value-added industrial products from agriculture (www.cheryan.com). He has been developing methods to improve corn wet milling and dry-grind ethanol plants for the past 18 years. He holds six patents in related areas, over 200 publications and is the author of the widely-circulated “Ultrafiltration and Microfiltration Handbook”, first published in 1986. Dr. Cheryan has provided on-going support to Prairie Gold in process design, scale-up and membrane development and will continue to provide such services as may be required in the future. Dr. Robert Dorsch; Independent Consultant Dr. Dorsch is highly experienced at establishing new businesses based on novel materials and processes and in 2006 became an independent consultant in the field of biotech-based biofuels and materials. Prior to consulting, Dr. Dorsch spent over 30 years with DuPont in various bio-technical management positions. In 1994 as Director of Biotechnology Development, DuPont Central Research, Dr. Dorsch launched a $300 million biomass based 1, 3 propanediol (PDO) R&D program and three other bioprocess efforts (two now commercial) and created and managed a collaborative research relationship that successfully developed the bioprocess for PDO. In 2000 as Director of Biotechnology Business Development, DuPont Biobased Materials business, Dr. Dorsch authored and was awarded a grant of $38 million in a Collaborative Development Award by USDOE for the “Integrated Corn Based BioRefinery (ICBR)”. Dr. Dorsch received a Ph.D. in chemical physics from the Institute for Molecular Physics at the University of Maryland in 1965 after completing a B.S. in physics from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY in 1972. Philip Madson; President, Katzen International, Inc. Mr. Madson is a highly distinguished registered professional engineer concentrating on value-added agricultural processing – such as motor fuel, potable and industrial grades of ethanol. Since joining Katzen, (www.katzen.com) Mr. Madson’s work has ranged from feasibility studies through final process and equipment design packages to liaison during procurement, construction, and start-up. He has also provided a leadership role in the development of several integrated agricultural processing systems. Mr. Madson has been a guest lecturer since 1983 at Alltech’s Annual International Alcohol Short Course as well as the principal author of The Alcohol Textbook. He is a co-founder of the annual World Ethanol Conference and has been the technology keynote speaker and workshop lecturer since 1998. Mr. Madson received his M.S.Ch.E. from the University of Iowa in 1970. Dr. William Eykamp; Independent Consultant Dr. Eykamp is a world leading expert in the field of ultra and micro-filtration using membrane technology. From 1969 through 1988 he worked in management of a leading membrane technology company, Koch Membrane Systems, including seven years as president. After leaving Koch, Dr. Eykamp taught membrane technology at the University of California, Berkley and in 1995 he was awarded the Distinguished Engineer Award by Purdue University. Since leaving Berkley, he has consulted with industry in the field of membrane technologies and from 1997 to 2003 he served as director of Osmonics, Inc. Dr. Eykamp received a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in 1965 from MIT. He is director and treasurer of the North American Membrane Society and a member of the European Society of Membrane Science and Technology and has been a speaker at the Gordon Research Conferences on Synthetic Membranes. Dr. Eykamp has a long list of publications in the field of microfiltration and ultrafiltration. |