The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Milan Biodiesel boosting local economy
Company plans to hire more workers in 2008
By Sue G. Collins, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 14, 2008
A new business at 67 Redman Road in Milan is not only providing a boost to the local economy but also helping keep the planet cleaner longer.
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Milan Biodiesel, which opened in 2005 and plans to hire up to a dozen workers, recycles used grease from commercial kitchens and turns it into fuel for diesel-burning buses, trucks and cars.
The Ann Arbor Transit Authority is using fuel from Milan Biodiesel to power its new and growing fleet of hybrid electric buses, and the Milan plant is supplying its blend for use at University of Michigan and by Target.
The company, which has invested more than $1 million in its plant, has honed its production process, turning cloudy restaurant grease into clear-burning alternative fuel without using any precious corn or soy crops. Its recipe doesn't use ethanol.
"We are really glad to be here in Milan and chose the location because the city has such an ample wastewater capacity," said Bob Karpiuk, one of the company's founders and plant manager. "We looked at a lot of possible locations and were very impressed with what Milan would offer."
The plant produces some 5,000 gallons of wastewater when it processes 10,000 of gallons of biodiesel each day, and averages about 20,000 gallons of wastewater daily. This benefits Milan's treatment facility by adding methanol byproduct, which helps convert nitrate to harmless nitrogen gas.
Milan has 17.7 miles of sanitary sewer lines with seven lift stations and a plant that treats an average of 1.2 million gallons of water every day.
Karpiuk and his partners were also pleased to find three buildings next to the railroad tracks, formerly Wolverine Truss, that they could use without much retrofitting.
Gary Graves of Wolverine Realty owns the property and, since leasing to Milan Biodiesel three years ago, has become an investor.
Graves admits it took him months to truly understand the concept of how the new company would turn french fry grease into a fuel that will cut nasty ozone-forming exhaust emissions by 50 percent.
"This is one smart group of guys," he said. "They have made a strong commitment to the company and care deeply about the environment."
Mayor Kym Muckler first heard about Milan Biodiesel when she was a reporter at The Milan News-Leader and interviewed Karpiuk and John Bolz of Saline, one of the partners.
"I like the idea that they are re-using so much, not only the components of their fuel, but also the building and even employees who were here when it was Wolverine Truss. We're thrilled to have the business here in Milan," she said.
Karpiuk said the process involves more than a dozen tempered steps from the time a collection truck unloads a few thousand pounds of restaurant grease into two 20,000-gallon tanks until the biodiesel fuel filters for a final time into one of the holding tanks.
He has been making biodiesel since 1995 and says the process hasn't changed much since then.
During production at Milan Biodiesel's 14,000-square-foot facility, the components are heated, cooled, filtered, cleaned, doused, mixed, heated and cooled again, washed and tested. And tested again.
The plumbing, through which the fluid journeys in the plant, takes some 10,000 turns from start to finish.
Karpiuk said each joint, alone, took about an hour to assemble and contributed to the months of construction time before production could begin.
The partners hope to take what they have learned setting up the Milan plant ("a pilot plant for us, said Karpiuk) and look into opening up more plants around the country.
Bolz, Karpiuk and Graves are joined in funding and running the company by Vivek Chandra, Paul Saam, Chuck Walker and Chris Moeller, representing Crestwood Energy.
Biodiesel is a growing industry for Michigan, supported in Lansing by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who promised to attract and grow alternative energy jobs, put strong incentives in place and replace lost manufacturing jobs with a whole new growing sector.
Milan Biodiesel is accepting applications for plant manager and production workers. Resumes, said Bolz, should be faxed to the plant at 439-4057 or mailed to 67 Redman Road, Milan, MI 48160.
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