Boulder firm goes down on the farm to get rid of waste

Hormel honors local recycling company's work

By Sarah Toland, For the Camera
August 7, 2004

Marty Caivano, Boulder Daily Camera Ray DeLong, president of Boulder-based Environmental Land Management, led a project that won the company a Spirit of Excellence Award from Hormel Foods Corp.

Given the popularity of its tinned meat, one might not expect the maker of Spam to concern itself with small companies based out of Boulder.

Not true. Hormel Foods Corp. — the makers of Spam, Dinty Moore beef stews and other meat-based product lines — has found an integral part of its success resides right here.

Boulder-based Environmental Land Management, or ELM, recycles the waste byproduct of food processing plants around the country and has been helping Hormel reuse its hogwash — literally — for the last 11 years.

In June, the Austin, Minn.-based Fortune 500 company recognized ELM's contributions by giving the local business its annual "Spirit of Excellence" quality award.

"When you think about Hormel and the number of companies who provide service to them, it's a big number," says Ray DeLong, founder and pres-

ident of ELM. "(The award) is pretty unique, and I'm really proud of it."

DeLong started ELM in 1993 while living in Minneapolis, where he was studying for his master's degree in business at the University of St. Thomas.

"I grew up working in a fertilizer plant and feed mill," says DeLong, originally from Clinton, Wis. "I had experience with farmers, truckers and fertilizers. When I needed to make a couple of hundred extra dollars while in (graduate) school, I thought 'Wow, maybe there's some waste that needs to be spread.'"

This insight led to the creation of ELM. The company spreads the waste byproducts of large food-processing companies on nearby farms as a reused form of fertilizer. After testing a plant's materials, ELM spreads the nutrient-rich waste on the soil of a handful of farms, free of charge.

"The financial and environmental benefits are huge," says DeLong, a Boulder resident since 1999. "You're creating a win-win situation. Area farmers get free fertilizer, and we charge the generating company 40 to 50 percent less than what they would pay if (they were) going to a landfill. The company wins, the area farmers win and the community where landfills are located also wins."

This smiles-and-handshakes situation is just one of many reasons why ELM was honored with Hormel's "Spirit of Excellence." The award, an annual distinction for the company's suppliers since 1991, is given to those businesses that have already been inducted into Hormel's Supplier Quality Management Program.

"We started the Supplier Quality Management as a way of identifying our most valued suppliers," says Dennis Boik, corporate manager of environmental affairs at Hormel, noting that ELM was initiated into the program in 2002. "We evaluate how well our suppliers do every quarter, and we only do it with our very top suppliers."

This preferred echelon comprises thousands of companies. Only 70 were chosen to receive the honor for their services during 2003.

"Ray DeLong has lots of personal integrity," Boik says. "When we're dealing with environmental issues, we want someone we trust, we have confidence in and who communicates very well, and Ray does all of these things."

DeLong, 38, sees the award as proof that companies are becoming increasingly interested in sustainable management.

"I think it's important that Hormel and other food processors are recognizing the importance of recycling their food waste," says DeLong, estimating that 30 percent of processing companies still send their byproduct to landfills or through city wastewater treatment facilities.

The strategy is good for the environment — and good for DeLong. His three-employee company now runs offices in Madison, Wis., and Atlanta. It recycles waste for 13 plants nationwide.

"When I first started out, not a lot of companies had (Hormel's environmental) mind-set; they only cared about the cost value (of waste recycling)," he says. "Now, over time, companies have started to recognize and tell me that recycling and protecting the environment are just as important to their corporate missions (as cost savings)."

Sarah Toland may be contacted at sarahtoland@yahoo.com.

See the Boulder Daily Camera Article