Location

If built, the Grayson County location for the new E&E Renewable Energy, LLC facility, doing business as Kentucky Snack Foods, is along Highway 54 near the Bel Cheese plant. The location is handy for several reasons, most notably because two grants (One from Bel and another from KSF) can be combined to help finance the $14 million dollar anaerobic digester to be built on the site, allowing animal remains to be lodged on-site to decompose.

Funding

It’s certainly expensive. The football field-sized digester, as previously mentioned, will run at around $14 million. In order to proceed with the project, 5% of that cost has to be secured; that funding was put up by an anonymous donor, meaning the city did not have to utilize a holding company to request the loan from a bank. (The City of Leitchfield could not have taken out the loan itself due to the unlikelihood that the loan would be paid off within a year; it would make it impossible to balance the city’s budget.) The City of Leitchfield has also applied for a state grant totaling $4.2 million to help finance the digester.

Some funding is believed to have been secured via the South Kentucky RECC — however, that funding was published when the processing facility anticipated a location to be in McCreary County. Leitchfield isn’t the South Kentucky RECC and, in all likelihood, the RECC will seek to recoup those funds so they may be used in other projects that benefit their region (though, legally, it is questionable about whether or not KSF will be obligated to return the funds).

Other infrastructure is, for the most part, already available on the site with almost the entirety of the expense being due to the anaerobic digester. This begs the question about how much of the project is being financed from investor funds and – more importantly – who will sign on the loan when the remainder of the $14 million is borrowed [should the investors not immediately pay the difference].

Investors

It has long been stated that this facility is being masterminded by four individuals, though only three names exist in print media: John Bulicek, Patrick Toth and Chuck Pharr. (Note: The following information is somewhat unverified, but it is a culmination of online and source data. If any of this information is in error, please contact me to make corrections.) Reports exist stating investors are all around, coming from Texas (though I’d argue this is incorrect), New York and even Canada.

Chuck Pharr is a principal at VCP&A, a design-build engineering company located in Arkansas. His role in this is simple: His company will be designing the Leitchfield facility. VCP&A have designed processing facilities for the likes of Tyson, Hudson, Michigan Turkey and have previously worked in Kentucky with their design of the Hudson plant in Robards, KY (south of Henderson).

Pat Toth has worked for several investment companies around Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He’s currently the owner of Alliance Capital, though has worked with several high-profile individuals (such as Gary Van Nest and Peter de Auer) at Encap Corp and Cluster Asset Management. I’ll note here that Cluster, under de Auer, has had a run-in with the Canadian securities authority when they began working with companies in a region they weren’t familiar enough with. Unrelated, though notable: Toth is also a frequent member of several non-profit advisory boards and has an impressive philanthropic record, currently sitting on the Legacy Children’s Foundation.

I would argue that the “mastermind” of the operation is John Bulicek, a man who has worked with emerging market investments for quite some time. He’s currently the Head of North American Sales for the London-based company Trusted Sources, a company that recently published a paper entitled “Well-positioned to sully emerging-market meat demand” written by Elizabeth Johnson, the director of the company’s Brazilian research group. I imagine that Bulicek is utilizing data from this role to help direct his independent company, Bulicek & Company, which will have a stake in the Leitchfield plant. Of these three individuals, Bulicek is the most equipped with background data to reasonably be able to form an international business plan.

Market

The meat export market is, without a doubt, set to grow. The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are gaining individual wealth, and as history has shown, a gain in wealth accompanies an increase in protein consumption (people eat steak when they can afford steak, basically). According to Trusted Source’s Elizabeth Johnson, previously mentioned, Brazil will be a major importer of international processed meat.

Unfortunately, some do not share this optimism. According to Jason Henderson with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the BRIC countries will indeed import more meat — until domestic meat processing catches up to demand. (http://kansascityfed.com/Publicat/EconRev/PDF/11q1Henderson.pdf) In these countries, Henderson projects that domestic production will grow rapidly, quickly shrinking the international import market.

Argument

For the short term, a meat processing plant in Leitchfield, catering to export abroad, will gain traction and market. Unfortunately, it is unreasonable to believe that the plant will retain significant market share 10+ years into the future without additional countries gaining additional wealth and growing similar to how BRIC countries are currently. It would be imperative that, for this operation to survive, the international demand for processed meat must continue to grow.

As for the company, the current demand (and the demand for the immediate future) will provide a mechanism to pursue the industry. For the investors, a net gain exists in the market, though the market may not last for an extended duration.

Opinion

I have a hard time believing that this facility will exist for a generation as the market will require a certain amount of luck to maintain international sales. The hope would be that, as one foreign country decreases meat imports, another will be expanding individual wealth to begin their duration as a net meat importer (again, until domestic production grows).

That being said, if I was an investor, I would likely be on board. With significant financial help coming from federal, state and local government, investor expenditure will be quite low into a market that, currently, has significant and growing demand. Needless to say, there is money to be made in the short-term and net profit will almost certainly be achieved. And if the plant’s administration is exceptional, they’ll likely figure out a way to keep the plant open (though doubtful with more than 300 workers) into the more-distant future. But I do have my doubts given that I can’t identify any investor mentioned above that has experience with physical sales or marketing; their experience is in obtaining international market information, not running a production facility.

I’m not an investor, though. And while there are certainly benefits to providing jobs to Grayson County citizens here and now, the net effect for the City of Leitchfield may be too great. With published documents outlining an uncertain future for such a large enterprise, the City of Leitchfield may have bills a decade from now, continuing to finance advances in water treatment, education and other amenities in West Leitchfield that would no longer be necessary.

The proximity of the proposed plant to several neighborhoods will also lower nearby land and property values, similar in effect to Glasgow’s cheese facility. And if there is a smell (which there will be — anaerobic processes smell awful, and burning contaminated methane smells worse) then West Leitchfield will be the worst place in the city to live, sending more people outside the city and decreasing city tax revenue.

I think there is an opportunity for this plant to last a long time, but not a great one. I also admit the prospect of adding 400-700 jobs within the next two years is desirable and a welcomed prospect. But I don’t foresee opportunity for a net positive effect. I expect this plant will either stain the region, the city’s finances, or both, especially in a city with substantial income from tourists who will drive within 100 feet of the facility.

Should the City of Leitchfield and Kentucky Snack Foods secure funding and build this facility, I hope these fears are proven incorrect, but I sincerely believe this operation will bite the City of Leitchfield and harm all of Grayson County. Even if the plant exists well into the future, citizens of Grayson County will grow to hate it being there.

What is pressing now, though, is what I’m currently up to. My girlfriend insisted some time ago that I restart my blogging, and from her wishes I’ve decided to continue posting.

Unfortunately, a blog is only as interesting as the person behind it. My life, right now, isn’t interesting; it is actually quite boring. While some might argue that it is impressive, in today’s economy, that I’m collecting a paycheck after recently acquiring my undergraduate degree, I would argue that my current employment is menial at best and isn’t allowing me to explore opportunities to expand my knowledge or skillset.

A sidenote: I have a BA in chemistry. My employer performs several chemical processes and I had hoped to expand my chemistry knowledge during my employment, but realistically my duties have only included manufacturing and production. Still not bad, but not what I’m looking for. That being said, I’m thankful for the job and the opportunity, but it just isn’t what I’m looking for in life.

This is why, in the very near future, I fully expect to venture into my own business ideas. One of my biggest pet peeves about my current job is that it’s only 40 hours/week. What am I suppose to achieve in that much time?! My own business means I’m busy doing something I enjoy, working every hour that I’m awake, and expanding that as much as possible with a cup of coffee. Why start my own business? Four major reasons: I think I have good ideas, I feel I’m a good leader, I’m ready for my own challenges, and I’m tired of being bored at nights.

So, what type of business does Garrett build upon? Fortunately, I’ve been associated with a few Internet-based businesses in the past and I’m fluent in PHP5/MySQL framework. I’m not new to this field, though I will admit that my most notable contribution to the Internet is with Ikonboard, which doesn’t exist anymore (though to no fault of my own — the software had internal problems and suffered a demise about a year after I resigned as I was entering college). The modern changes to Internet dev work is something that I’ve been able to keep up with, for the most part. Ikonboard was coded in Perl, but since I’ve been so entranced with PHP for the last few years, my ability to code in Perl is certainly questionable; fortunately, it doesn’t matter, since coding in Perl as an Internet language isn’t exactly the most widely appreciated (nor desired) skill. PHP has the largest coding community, and it only makes sense that I build software in the language with the most people who can [be employed to] edit it.

So, my “notable” influence (Ikonboard) doesn’t even exist anymore. Sure, that’s a sore spot in my soul (I gave a steady two years to that project), but I’ve moved on. Or, rather, I am moving on — to something newer, better and greater.

I have a few ideas that I’m working through with one about to go into a limited BETA in the next week or so. I’ll expand upon that a bit in the near future, but even that isn’t my idée de génie. I’m still hoping that one is yet to come, possibly buried in my future list of plots that, right now, aren’t quite feasible. One in particular stands out, but it is missing some middle ground; I have a start and a finish, but the plot is still to be determined.

A successful, modern product is all contained in the execution. Is it useful, simple to use and does it attract new users? If so, you’ve got a winner. That’s what I’m working to create.

And I’ve realized that’s fine because I’d rather do science right now anyway.

Over the last month I’ve had time to reevaluate what some of my life goals are and how, lately, I’ve been following a “shoot, then point” path without any real direction. Where do I want to end up? Somewhere. How to I want to get there? Somehow. That’s really not a legitimate path to follow… mostly because this could only vaguely be called a path.

So, where to now? I’ll be back in Kentucky next week to attend The Bell Awards. My mother is one of the recipients this year for the award, honoring those who are active in community by volunteering their time. I’m proud of her achievements and am glad I get to attend the ceremony. She volunteers in the Child Life department at Kosair Children’s Hospital (short description of the recipients, PDF link).

After that visit home, though, I plan to head further south. I’m in the process of applying for graduate school in oceanography and intend to get some more experience in the interim time period. I realized after my experience at Friday Harbor Labs last fall that, if I decided to pursue science, I would be doing oceanography. Well, a year later, that’s my decision. I don’t want to do research forever, and I intend to get an MBA in the future as well, but oceanography is where I intend to focus a substantial part of my life.

The other reason I’d like to get further into oceanography is a bit more outlandish (even out of this world), delving into astrobiological topics that center on water as the essential source of known life. There’s also a substantial philosophical world that can coincide with astrobiology topics, and I’m looking forward for the opportunity to ask questions that both can and cannot be answered.

There’s more to all of this, but that’s the plan in a nutshell. As always, it should be interesting.

When Science Undergrads Should Be Hired For Entry-Level Business Positions

As an undergraduate, a science major has to achieve along one of the most difficult learning curves. The theorems, postulates and sheer knowledge a science major must retain in order to pass a class is immense. More importantly, though, is the time involved: A good science major understands that time outside of class, late into the evening, and over a weekend is essential to obtain a decent grade in a course.

The American business mentality states that, to be successful in business, working 40 hour weeks is not enough. Instead, you work until the job is completed (and completed well), which may mean 60-70 hour weeks in many instances. As it turns out, research scientists have the identical mentality: I have friends working in research labs that frequently pull 13-hour days because they have to — otherwise they won’t be successful.

Also important is that a science major has a broad understanding of a variety of subjects, indicating the student’s ability to multitask, an ability essential in the process of developing business. (I will admit here, though, that the ability to multitask and the ability to remain organized are two very separate competencies.) I’m adamant when I say that many science majors have the aptitude to be very successful in a business setting, though there are certainly some instances where this many not be the best option…

When Science Undergrads Should Not Be Hired For Entry-Level Business Positions

…usually due to personality and business knowledge issues.

The largest drawback to hiring a scientist for a business development, sales or other such business positions has to do with personality. The stereotypical scientist can be socially awkward and clueless on common sense, which certainly wouldn’t help secure any deals or important accounts. (I’ll address this some more down a few paragraphs.)

More importantly for the initial position, though, is the lack of understanding for business topics. Sales graphs, business lingo, appropriate attire, small talk, what the heck is an EBITDA, and so forth. In many cases, these are items that a science major simply doesn’t know anything about while an individual with undergraduate business experience would be more in-tune to understanding the for-profit world.

—-

First, the ‘stereotypical scientist’ issue is misguided. Bluntly, a scientist that fits this stereotype will not be applying for a business professional position; this type of science major will desire to be in a lab, not at conferences or in sales meetings. Secondly, a science major has proven (by obtaining a degree with a high degree of difficulty) that the student does not have any inability to learn; business exposure and profession business courses, such as a part-time MBA program, will present a science major with more knowledge and an easier learning curve to achieve long-term business goals.

In reality, though, advancing a science major’s business knowledge may take a better part of a year to achieve, and that is rarely an acceptable timeframe in a business setting. For most, it would be much easier to take a business undergraduate student and quickly mold him or her into the craft.

To end, I will leave with my own thoughts. I do agree with the thought that hiring a science person for a business position is a riskier move. However, I also believe that with this added risk can bring a higher degree of growth in the long run, as a scientist will use the business opportunity to both challenge and grow after the individual learns and understands how the backend of business operates.

To be sustainable in business there has to be opportunity for growth. Management must have the ability to constantly examine new options, weigh chances of success, and execute changes while undergoing constant scrutiny through trial/error to reach the most desirable [profitable] outcome… a feat that is achieved via scientific process, going from a hypothesis, conducting trials, and analyzing the outcome to determine success.

A science major interested in business could be a quality choice for an entry level business position, though certainly not the most likely. It may simply come down to the needs of the company hiring and how involved a manager would like to be in educating new hires of business practices within a particular industry. I do believe that there is a greater risk/reward to hiring a successful scientist with a good personality and high learning acumen as a business professional, but there is also something to be said for those individuals who pursue a degree in business: they’re applying for the job that they initially set out for, and that’s probably worth something.

Signing over money and paying the security deposit did cause a rather strong twist on my emotions, and not just because of the money (though that hurts, too). For the past week or so I’ve basically felt as though I was on vacation, living with various friends around New England for a few days at a time. Paying rent, though, makes it obvious that I’m not just visiting anymore. I think a part of me was somewhat skeptical about whether or not I would stay here, but this pretty well solidifies it.

And where will I be working? Well, I have one good prospect that I’ll be exploring more next week, hopefully Tuesday or Wednesday. Should that not pan out, though, I’ve managed to save up enough to where I have some time to find something in the future. I’m definitely still hopeful to have something by Friday.

Why am I doing this? Well, there are a lot of reasons. I really can’t identify all of them because a part of me just wanted to get out an go somewhere, but I can give a short reason: Stories like this, where I can’t help but ask myself, “What have I been doing for the last five years?” So now I have my opportunity. I intend to get a job that covers all my bills (and maybe a few odds-and-ends, like bourbon, which is occasionally necessary so that I may reflect on the Commonwealth of Kentucky) and then spend time outside of that exploring seemingly far-fetched ideas.

Hopefully by the end of this month I’ll be going strong with a job, extracurriculars, and enjoying the city before it gets too cold. This past week has been way hotter than I’d like; humidity here is pretty similar to Kentucky, so that’s brutal. Whew!

I’ll post pictures of the new digs a little later when I can snap some photos during the day. I miss having a DVR (and cable…), but other than that, I’m not doing so bad! I can watch just about everything online, anyway. First World problems.

In the right sidebar is a small map that includes my vague location. My progress can be viewed by anyone visiting this website courtesy of Google Latitude. If all goes well the drive will be right at 14 hours. My first destination, though, is to see a friend who lives outside of Albany, NY.

This blog will discuss the travels, what I find in Boston (fun, excitement, food, employment), and will allow me to connect some with the online world.

But Garrett, why Boston? I’ve only been there once, and it was probably 15 years ago. I don’t remember a whole lot about it (though I did go see a pre-Pitino Celtics game), but the more I read about the city, the more I’m pulled to the idea of living there. I also have several good friends there as well as a large pool of secondary and tertiary connections through various people I’ve met (mostly within the last five years or so). I’m also interested in starting an MBA program within the next year or so, and the metro Boston area is home to several schools I find myself interested in attending.

So, of course, I’m excited. But I don’t really have any set plans – yet. Hopefully those come into fruition fairly quickly, but even if they don’t, it will certainly be an adventure. Risky, yes, but a calculated one. I may be jumping into a city that I really don’t know without a set plan, but Boston is the most likely candidate city for my own success. It should be one heck of an excursion.

(View the route after the jump.)


View Larger Map