Press Releases

Ben Arentson Promoted to General Manager at POET Biorefining—Hanlontown



Thursday, January 16, 2020


HANLONTOWN, IA — Ben Arentson has been promoted to General Manager at POET Biorefining—Hanlontown in Hanlontown, Iowa. Arentson started his career at POET in 2014 as the Quality Manager at POET Biorefining—Corning in Corning, Iowa and most recently worked as the Plant Manager at POET Biorefining—Hanlontown. Arentson has consistently maintained operational excellence and has worked closely with the bioprocessing leadership team to maximize efficiencies.

As General Manager, Arentson will oversee all operations at the Hanlontown plant, including the production of ethanol and other coproducts and a team of 40 people, including financial, commodities, operations, maintenance, inventory, material handling and EHS roles.

Kelly Hansen, Hanlontown’s previous General Manager was promoted to Regional Vice President of Operations. “Ben is truly an example of what it means to be a servant leader. He has always provided exceptional quality of work while also lifting his team members and his community up in everything he does. We look forward to watching Ben grow in his leadership role and continuing POET’s mission to change the world” said Hansen.

POET Biorefining—Hanlontown is POET’s 11th ethanol plant. The biorefinery purchases approximately 25 million bushels of corn from the local area and has a production capacity of 72 million gallons of ethanol annually.

The Hanlontown facility primarily produces ethanol, a clean-burning, renewable alternative to fossil fuels, and also produces new, innovative co-products, including those that can replace harmful petroleum products. During the ethanol production process, starch is removed from the grain leaving protein, fiber and oil, which is turned into high-quality and nutrient-dense feed products for local, regional and national markets.

About POET
POET, headquartered in Sioux Falls, SD, is the world’s largest biofuels producer. POET is a leader in biorefining through its efficient, vertically integrated approach to production. Started in 1987, the company today has a network of 28 production facilities across 7 states. At full run rates, POET purchases 5% of US corn and produces 2 billion gallons of ethanol, 10 billion pounds of distillers dried grains, and 600 million pounds of corn oil annually. In 2019, Fast Company recognized POET on its annual list of “Most Innovative Companies” for transportation and FORTUNE recognized POET on its list of companies that are changing the world. For more information, visit poet.com.

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