The 2012 PFI Annual Conference was held from July 28-30 at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT.

Conference Program

Conference Presentations
Monday, July 30, 2012

Welcome and Opening Remarks
Scott Jacobs, PFI President
Jennifer Hedrick, PFI Executive Director

Report: Outlook for the Pellet Fuels Industry
Seth Walker, RISI

Pellet Mill Safety: Assessing Risk and Implementing Safeguards for Accident Prevention
Tim Myers, Exponent
Zachary Hachmeister, Fauske & Associates

Hazard Analysis of a U.S. Pellet Mill: Case Study Results
Mark Fecke, Exponent
Stephen Faehner, American Wood Fibers

Marketing Strategies for the Promotion of the Industry: Determining and Reaching Target Audiences
John Nelson, BBI International
Michael Holloway, Certified Labs
Lloyd Irland, The Irland Group

Lunch
Keynote, Christiane Egger, O.O. Energiesparverband, Upper Austria
Public Policy Report, Pat Rita, Orion Advocates

State and Local Initiatives in the Pellet Industry: Best Practices and Recent Developments from Across the Nation
Jeremy Crandall, Office of Maryland Delegate Heather Mizeur
Charlie Niebling, New England Wood Pellet
William Strauss, Future Metrics
Marcus Kauffman, Oregon Department of Forestry

Sustainable Forest Certification: Overview of forest certification programs and preparing for a green certification audit.
Ron Lovaglio, Ron Lovaglio LLC
Mike Ferrucci, NSF International Strategic Relations

Non-traditional Markets: Looking Beyond the Residential Bagged Market
Confined Animal Feeding Operations, Bruce Lisle, Biofuel Boiler Technologies
Commercial/Industrial Scale Biomass Thermal Projects, Bede Wellford, Northline Industries, Inc.
Michael Albright, Canadian Biomass Energy Centre, University of New Brunswick
Co-Firing with Pellets, Mike Curci, Indeck Energy

Breakout Session PFI Standards Program: The Retailer Perspective
Chris Wiberg, Timber Products Inspection
Richard Thomas, Courtland Hearth & Hardware
John Crouch, Pellet Fuels Institute

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Impact of Fuel Costs on the Biomass Market: Assessing and Mitigating Risk
Eric Kingsley, Innovative Natural Resources

Barriers to Industry Development:  A Roundtable Discussion about the Factors that Impact Expansion of the Densifed Biomass Industry.
Pat Rita, Orion Advocates
Charlie Agnew, Biomass Commodities Corporation
Rob Davis, Forest Energy Corp.
Ed Gee, Industry Consultant
Stephen Faehner, American Wood Fibers, Moderator

International Market Report: Latest Developments in the EU and Beyond
Gordon Murray, Wood Pellet Association of Canada
Christian Rakos, proPellets Austria
Harold Arnold, Fram Renewable Fuels  

Standards Program Symposium
Overview of PFI Densified Fuel Grading Program Michael Albright, Canadian Bioenergy Centre, University of New Brunswick
Densified Fuel Accreditation Body John McDaniel, American Lumber Standard Committee
Pellet Plant Qualification: An Auditing Agency’s Perspective Jim Husom, PFS Corporation
Pellet Manufacturer Perspective: Current Status of Compliance Darryl Rose, Energex Pellet Fuel


 Platinum Sponsors:


Gold Sponsors: 
      

Silver Sponsors:
Thomas Enterprises, Inc.

Supporting Organizations: