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Interview with
We were able to visit Shell Rock Soy Processing and hold an interview with Scott Little,
a Process Engineer. He gave us a tour of the plant buildings, answered lots of our question about soybeans, plant safety and materials, and talked about his background as an engineer and professional. He also talked about laws and regulations around soybean processing.
Tell us a little about the story of Shell Rock Soy Processing.
How did it come to be?
Tell us a little about the story of Shell Rock Soy Processing.
How did it come to be?
"I was hired with Shell Rock a year and a half ago. The start of the plant was around 2019 and 2020. Originally, it was going to be a joint venture with mid-Iowa co-op. The site itself was developed in September or October of 2020. Originally this was all farm fields. Fagan was brought in to build and they have previously done a lot of ethanol plants before. Midstates was brought in, owning a portion of the plant initially. These were the main companies developing the site. AGR private equity firm brought in the final capital to build the plant. We received beans last fall and a new grain silo that size has to be settled. Unloaded soybeans last fall for those purposes and have just begun processing. Startups have lots of problems but now we have things up and running and are currently past capacity and doing well. We have around 60 to 70 employees at this point. I have a background in engineering. We have engineers, accountants, technicians, maintenance technicians, people of different backgrounds in ag too, etc. A wide variety of people came to work here, some from farms and others from different business backgrounds. It's a really cool team, really cool culture. Iowa hasn’t had a new soybean facility constructed in at least a couple of decades so this was unique. Technological and regulatory changes have opened up the soybean industry for a lot of growth over the last few years. Renewable diesel is the reason for technological advancements and growth. The national emphasis on renewable energy and fuels has been big too. The EPA put a heavy premium on renewable diesel. Most valuable product is degummed soybean oil as a result and Phillips 66 will take that and turn it into renewable diesel."
How does Shell Rock Soy Processing compare to other processing plants around the state of Iowa?
How does Shell Rock Soy Processing compare to other processing plants around the state of Iowa?
"It's a pretty normal size. We crush about 110,000 bushels of soybeans a day. 110 is on the upper edge of average. We are right in the middle. The biggest advantage of our size is that we are in that eastern area of Iowa. We have an advantage for farmers who want to deliver to us. This area is strategically nice as there weren’t previous facilities or opportunities."
Did the drought in 2023 cause any problems?
Did the drought in 2023 cause any problems?
"Low moistures of the soybeans coming out of the field was the biggest problem. Currently coming out around 9% to 10% in moisture which is low. Efficiencies of the process have to be tailored to moisture levels of soybeans. We also have a number of federal and state regulations to comply with (OSHA, EPA). We have to protect people and our employees. We also emit things into the atmosphere so Iowa administers environmental laws statewide. We report to the Iowa DNR for environmental permitting. We discharge water into Shell Rock River so we have to get a permit and meet requirements for that. We also have Department of Labor restrictions for our workforce. Our permits have to be applied for and reviewed as well and we have consulting firms helping with that. FSMA Act applies to food safety from the federal government."
What do you do within the organization? What are other jobs at Shell Rock Soy Processing?
What do you do within the organization? What are other jobs at Shell Rock Soy Processing?
"We have a CEO, then under that is Director of Operations and CFO. We have an HR lead too and that area is standalone. That’s all at the top level. Us at the plant report to the Director of Operations and we have a plant manager. The Commercial Director reports to the CEO and CFO too. The Commercial Director sells products and gets them out. We have an accounting lead too with a team. At the plant level, under plant manager, there’s a series of supervisors and technicians they are in charge of. There are maintenance-specific teams, there are production and logistics teams and supervisors and those who actually run the facility. As a Process Engineer my job is to improve efficiency, safety, and reliability. An engineering background is important for his job. I work on meeting regulatory requirements (EX: NFPA requirements for fire safety, NFPA 36). Soy crushing is correlated with solvent extraction and with that comes safety risks. This has to do with the Process Safety Management area of OSHA. We want to make sure we are doing the right stuff and not blowing up the plant. If equipment is working right or we aren’t maximizing capacity, we look at those things too. Sometimes, it is also because equipment might have broken down. We also have to understand why that equipment broke down so we can prevent that in the future. Sometimes it has to do with yields too and making sure we are meeting metrics and producing things adequately. You have to be able to know the process (horizontal and vertical) and how metrics scale according to operational outputs. For example, there was a steam valve that is manual out in the plant. The valve has to be open for steam purposes. We want the valve to be computerized so we won’t have to have an operator do it every time. One of my current projects is to buy a valve that can be operated via computer (automated), paying vendors, purchase orders, etc. We want to track the change that we are conducting."
How did you get to this job, and is it related to what you studied in college?
How did you get to this job, and is it related to what you studied in college?
"I grew up in Mason City and studied Chemical Engineering at ISU. During that time I had done a semester, summer, and internship with an ag co-op. I ended up working for them full time after I graduated. I started off in their supervisor training program and much of my career has been in operations. These are the people who run the plant day in and day out. Recently I switched to an engineering role with my previous co-op. I have worked in biodiesel space, soybean crushing, and corn germ crushing. Engineering really trains you to understand systems and components of that system. I also do stuff in the cybersecurity space and tech operations of the plant."
What are the different byproducts that are made from soybeans or their oils? What types of organizations purchase byproducts from Shell Rock Soy Processing?
What are the different byproducts that are made from soybeans or their oils? What types of organizations purchase byproducts from Shell Rock Soy Processing?
"We have four main products, degummed soybean oil, soybean meal (largest by volume product for pig feed), hulls (outer coating of soybean and goes into cattle feed, mainly for bulk/filler), and pellets (version of hulls). Each process is the same, these products are just at different points in the process. The machines are conveyors that move large volumes of soybean products to each piece of equipment for that particular step in the process. Staff monitors machines from computers and look at pressures, amps, and efficiency. Once it's been cracked, it becomes flaked. Once the oil has been removed, the flakes have to go through a large machine and then it goes into feed form for swine, pigs, chickens, etc. Oil begins as crude oil (heavies in the bottom) and then we take the stuff at the bottom out. Then, it becomes degummed oil. Degumming is basically the process of cleaning the oil up so it can be contributed to renewable fuels. The plant works to maximize efficiency by getting out all the oils while also creating feed. It’s about how to effectively separate the product streams. In terms of weight, degummed oil is the most valuable product. The feed is the most in terms of volume. Hulls are traditionally the byproduct."
How does renewable fuel help the growth of processing jobs?
How does renewable fuel help the growth of processing jobs?
"There are a couple of angles on this topic. There’s a lot of different oil bearing seeds in agriculture. (EX: Peanut Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Cottonseed Oil, Sunflower Oil, Avocado Oil, Palm Oil in Asia, Canola Oil). There’s lot of potential sources of oil that can go into renewable diesel. Soybean oil however is straddling two different supply chains. Traditionally, soybean has gone into the vegetable oil market for cooking and frying, it often ends up going into oil in the supermarket. Since biofuels have changed the industry, that type of oil is now fighting with the industrial needs (fuel). As time goes on, there is a new technology that displaces an old technology. All the ethanol plants now can add some equipment and recover other oil to reuse it biodiesel or food or renewable diesel."
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Shell Rock Soy Processing made a short YouTube video to share more about their organization. Click the play button to the left to watch their content!
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