Notable quotes from last week's conference

Going over my notes from last week’s National Biodiesel Conference I am seeing some good quotes that did not appear in my editorial coverage of the event.

Speaking on the Advanced Biofuel Initiative—the National Biodiesel Board’s largest, most expensive campaign to date—Gary Haer, chairman of the NBB and vice president of sales and marketing for Renewable Energy Group, said, “It was critical we defined ourselves before others defined us.” He also leveraged the theme of the conference, “Delivering Now,” by stating, “We’re delivering now by shaping our own message. We’re differentiating ourselves to tip the scales in our favor.”

USDA Secretary Tom Vilack’s chief of staff, Krysta Harden, spoke to the general session about her early days working with the soy diesel board in the 1990s, and told the crowd of around 1,200 biodiesel stakeholders that, regarding the USDA’s position on the renewable fuel standard (RFS2), “We get it, we know how important it is.” She also said of remembering the past, “It’s fun to look back, just don’t stare.” The NBB presented Harden with its Pioneer Award.

Tom Fulks of the Diesel Technology Forum, who appeared in place of the organization’s executive director Allen Schaeffer, said in the context that Washington knows biodiesel exists and is fighting to grow, “Make sure they cut you less than everyone else.” Fulks said Texas and California are the largest diesel car and truck markets in the U.S. He also noted how drastically diesels have changed in just the past five years as emissions controls and engine and systems technologies have ushered in the clean diesel era. As a testament to how clean diesels truly are today, Fulks told the audience that some of the highest level environmental and emissions officers in California, the strictest state in the union with respect to environmental policy, drive diesels.

Glenn Ellis, Hino Motor Sales USA Inc., told the crowd of biodiesel people how they “helped pull us (Hino) forward with technology growth.”

In response to the question of what the biodiesel industry should keep working on, Jim Michon of Ford Motor Co. said: “High-quality fuel.” Roger Gault of the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association added, “We can’t echo that enough,” and said poor fuel quality can “turn a real positive into a real negative fast. It can’t be 95 percent good.” Michon also said, “When we say B20, we kind of mean it,” referencing Ford’s line of B20-capable trucks, alluding to the fact that Ford designed these systems for blends up to B20, not high blends like B99.