The future of ethanol beams brightly at the Blue Flint Ethanol plant in Underwood. Employing 42 people directly and contributing an estimated 2,500 jobs indirectly, Blue Flint Ethanol is stimulating the economy while taking steps to improve the environment.

Farmers, builders, railways, water works, and numerous others make valuable contributions to Blue Flint Ethanol.

“We have a tremendous amount of pride in the products that we’re producing,” Jeff Zueger, general manager at Blue Flint Ethanol, said. “We’re producing a renewable fuel that helps improve the environment, because when ethanol is blended with fuel, it lowers emissions of greenhouse gases. We’re helping the local, the state and the national economy by providing a product that used to be imported from other areas, so when ethanol moves into the fuel supply it helps to lower the price of fuel. Typically ethanol is lower in price than gasoline, which lowers the price of fuel at the pump.”

In the age of clean and renewable energy, employees at the Blue Flint Ethanol plant feel proud to provide a solution.

“We’re improving the economy, the environment and creating strong energy independence,” Zueger said. “Being part of the solution and doing it with a renewable based product, that you’re using from locally grown corn brings pride to the people who are a part of this company.”

Aside from assisting with fuel production, Blue Flint Ethanol is contributing to distillers grains.

“Not only do we produce ethanol, we also produce distillers grains, which is a cattle feed,” Zueger said. “Every bit of the corn kernel is used in our process.”

“Make it don’t waste it” is a popular philosophy in the ethanol industry. Staying true to this belief, Blue Flint Ethanol also manufactures corn oil.

“Producing corn oil is something we started doing in 2010,” Zueger said. “Corn oil is typically used as a feed stock to bio diesel production. One gallon of corn oil equates to one gallon of bio diesel, so we’re not only producing ethanol and distillers grain for feed, we’re producing corn oil which is a precursor to bio diesel as well.”

As you take your first steps toward the administration building on site, an aroma resembling the sweet smell of kettle corn entertains your senses, followed by the sight of steam hovering over the towers, before being greeted by the friendly staff who patiently assist you at the front desk.

Throughout the Blue Flint Ethanol plant, employee moral is extremely positive. Zueger credits the collaborative goal setting as the catalyst for an enjoyable workplace.

“We try to set goals for all of our employees, and allow them to be part of the goal setting process” Zueger said. “These goals are supported by their respective departments and our organization. Everyone has a chance to be a part of our long-term mission, and we try our best to make this an enjoyable place to work. We make a strong effort to recognize employees for their success, and when things don’t go as planned we provide coaching and try to learn from the experiences.”

At the Blue Flint Ethanol plant, a shortcut to success does not exist. Everyone is committed to creating the best possible product, by upholding the highest production standards and honoring its responsibility to ensuring the safest products to its customers.

Before any products are released from Blue Flint, they must meet an uncompromising set of standards that are assessed daily by the operators in the control room.

“Typically, we have three operators on any given shift for 24 hours a day,” Zueger said. “Then we balance up the 42 employees for additional support.”

Operators have access to human interface machinery, which helps to provide accurate analysis of the manufactured products. Possessing state of the art technology, the Blue Flint Ethanol plant is capable of generating products safely and efficiently.

“Both the operators and engineers do quite a bit of work,” Zueger said. “We have a chemical process, biological process, and mechanical process going on simultaneously. So, a lot of things have to be monitored.”

Inside the laboratories, engineers meticulously assess the health and quality of every sample, throughout each phase of production.

“As you can see, we graph and monitor every sample that comes to the lab,” Zueger said. “In the lab, our engineers will analyze solids, concentrates, and pH levels to make sure our pH meters in the plant are accurate. They will look at every aspect which allows us to provide the best product possible.”

Every day, engineers carefully examine the health of the yeast, which is a critical component to the fermentation process.

“In our labs, we keep track of how many cells are dead along with how many are budding,” Zueger said. “This gives us a clear indication of how active the cells are growing and expanding. This is an important index for us because it tells us how healthy our yeast is throughout various parts of its propagation and fermentation. A good propagation actively converts the glucose into alcohol. So, we want healthy and viable yeast.”

At the plant, not only do they raise the standards for ethanol production, they also increase the heat to maximize the safest quality product. For example, during the cook process, corn mash is cooked up to 225 degrees to ensure that all bacteria is killed off.

“The reason we raise the temperature to 225 degrees, is to kill the bacteria that may come with the process,” Zueger said. “As you can imagine, at 90 degrees with sugar in a tank, bacteria will compete with the yeast. Essentially, acids will form, the yeast will be stressed, which produces glycerol and acids instead of alcohol. We want alcohol, not acids and glycerol. So, it’s important to keep everything clean and kill off all the bacteria. Our cleaning process uses a variety of caustic and acids solutions to kill off any bacteria that forms.”

Each well and every tank is carefully cleaned by caustic solutions.

“Our wells have a series of spray nozzles inside with a caustic solution to kill off any bacteria,” Zueger said. “The next part of the process is flushing the wells, before filling the wells.”

Today, customers need the most from their investments. Blue Flint Ethanol strives to ensure customer satisfaction by creating products that meet the highest industry standards.

“We ensure that all the products we produce meet the specifications set forth for our products,” Zueger said. “We want to ensure that when people use the fuel that we’re producing in their vehicles, that it meets the requirements and adds value to them as our products are being used.”

Versatility is one of the benefits provided by Blue Flint Ethanol. Trusted by farmers, Blue Flint Ethanol produces feed for cattle that ensures their survival, which directly helps farmers strengthen their brand.

“The same can be said for the feed that we use,” Zueger said. “Our feed is going to cattle feeding markets, and feeders are relying on us to make sure that we have quality standards in place. To ensure the best possible product is being produced, we monitor all the key parameters of the products that we produce, so we can provide a high quality product that meets the needs of the customers that we’re serving.”

High quality production, strong employee relations, and excellent service to the consumers have greatly contributed to the success of Blue Flint Ethanol.