Women Head 3 Ethanol Plants in the Midwest

by Janna Farley (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Passion, leadership and vision are more important than gender in the work of three top managers. -- In fact, there are only a handful of women in top management in the industry. Ethanol Producer Magazine talked to three about their experiences and how they’re helping to move the industry forward.

Bontrager is the general manager and CEO of United Wisconsin Grain Producers, a community-owned ethanol facility with more than 900 investors in Friesland, located about 85 miles northwest of Milwaukee.

Bontrager has worked for UWGP since November 2004. A certified public accountant, she came on board as the CFO just before the facility opened in April 2005 and was promoted to general manager and CEO in 2012. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations and financial management of the ethanol facility, which employs more than 40 people.

UWGP purchases 20 million bushels of corn from the local region annually and has among the best ethanol per-bushel yield rates, at 2.86, in the industry. UWGP has had an exceptional earnings history. Since the beginning of operations in April 2005, it has recorded $108 million in earnings, of which 74 percent were distributed to its members.

The small number of women in the ethanol industry, however, does not mean that her peers in the industry and her customers don’t respect her.

“That hasn’t been my experience at all,” she says. “In fact, I think farmers understand—especially those small mom and pop farms—the importance of women to the success of an operation.”

“I like to get there early and look at the plant,” says Pitz. That allows her to chat with the night crew as well as welcome the team coming in for the shift exchange at 7. “It’s nice to start the day with no one in the office, too,” she says.

Getting a jump-start on the day is helpful because there’s a lot going on. The Mitchell plant is one of the company’s highest producing facilities. In 2014, the plant bought 25 million bushels of corn from farmers and produced 72 million gallons of ethanol.

The long hours can be tiresome, but for Pitz, who started as the plant’s technical manager in 2006 and was named the general manager in 2013, it’s all worth it.

“I love what Poet stands for. If we can reduce the amount of foreign oil we’re dependent on with something that’s clean, green and renewable, how do you not love that?”

She never thought she’d be able to find work in her chemical engineering field so close to home.

It really doesn’t matter, Pitz says, if you’re a man or a woman. “I don’t even think about it,” she says. “With Poet, if you work hard and you’re good at what you do, there are unlimited opportunities.”

Besides, she’s used to it. Pitz graduated from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, where the student body is made up of five men to every woman. “I’ve always been in a male-dominated world,” she says. “I’m just used to it.”

Pitz would rather not worry about gender issues anyway. She’s more concerned about being a strong advocate for ethanol. Many people don’t realize how much rural areas like Mitchell rely on renewable energy for jobs and economic strength, Pitz says. Poet in Mitchell employs more than 40 people and provides farmers throughout the area with an alternative market to sell their crops.

Of course, the benefits of ethanol extend beyond Mitchell. That’s why Pitz is also an advocate for the industry in Washington, D.C.

As the manager for the ethanol plant located about 100 miles southwest of Minneapolis, Gries is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the plant that processes nearly 43 million bushels of corn into 135 million gallons of denatured ethanol and 400,000 tons of distillers grains coproducts every year.

Gries has a background in chemical engineering and previously worked as a process engineer, first for Cargill and then for Rohm and Haas. After moving back to the Midwest, Gries worked for VeraSun Energy before Valero acquired a group of VeraSun’s plants. She’s been the plant manager for the Welcome facility since 2013.

There’s never a typical day at Valero’s Welcome plant. With more than 70 full-time employees, Gries spends a lot of time on personnel issues. “Each facility depends on its workforce and plant culture and to accomplish that, you have to stay on top of it,” she says. “It’s a pretty important facet, and it’s something I get pretty passionate about, too.” READ MORE