CLEVELAND, OH, Friday, April 13, 2007 -- Schmack BioEnergy, LLC, announced today that Clemens Halene has joined the company as Vice President of Engineering. In this role, he will be responsible for driving the technology strategy and development of the company's industry-leading anaerobic digestion process, which produces renewable energy from organic residuals.
Schmack BioEnergy designs, constructs and maintains processing systems, and provides laboratory analyses and support services to create renewable energy and useful byproducts from organic residuals [for example, methane generated from wastewater is a source of biogas], in addressing environmental, economic and energy challenges facing our nation.
Halene, formerly President of Tekfor USA, brings to the company more than 10 years of development, engineering and technical management experience. While at Tekfor USA, Halene was instrumental in establishing the company's product strategy and development. Tekfor USA, a subsidiary of the worldwide Neumayer Group, was started in 2001 to serve U.S. customers in the automotive sector.
"I am pleased to welcome Clemens to the Schmack executive team," said Mel Kurtz, company President and CEO. "His extensive experience and strong leadership skills at Tekfor, will have tremendous value at Schmack as we continue to build advanced solutions that help enterprises generate renewable energy from the management of organic residuals."
"As a pioneer in a rapidly emerging North American renewable energy market, Schmack, with its unique anaerobic digestion systems and problem-solving approach, represents an incredible opportunity to create a successful renewable energy industry in the United States. I am very pleased to be a part of the team," said Halene.
While at Tekfor USA, Halene also served as Vice President of Engineering and Marketing. Prior to Tekfor USA, Halene held engineering and management positions at LuK, Incorporated. He holds a Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Karlsruhe, Germany.
Schmack BioEnergy is partnered with Schmack Biogas AG of Schwandorf, Germany, a leading European supplier of energy producing facilities. To date, Schmack Biogas has built more than 171 plants that produce in excess of 41 Megawatts of electricity. Schmack BioEnergy's goal is to lead the emerging biogas market in the U.S. in order to lessen the nation's dependence on fossil fuels, while providing cost-effective disposal and processing of organic residuals.
###
