presents 2021 Faces of Ethanol
ANGELA BOATMAN
Plant Manager, Alto Columbia LLC BOARDMAN, OREGON
Angela Boatman had no ethanol experience when she applied for her first position at the plant, now she is plant manager at Alto Columbia LLC, formerly known as Pacific Ethanol Columbia in Boardman.
Working in ethanol I graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. My first job out of college was working for a high-tech microprocessor manufacturer in Hillsboro, Oregon. I worked there for 11 years and then left my job to move back to eastern Oregon. My husband and I were raised in small towns in Eastern Oregon and we wanted to be closer to our families while raising our two daughters. In 2012, I came across a job opportunity for plant superintendent for a cellulosic demonstration facility in Boardman, Oregon. I applied and was offered the job. I had no experience with regards to the ethanol industry—just a lot of determination and tenacity. This is how my ethanol career started. From there, I played musical chairs at the Columbia plant. I was the maintenance manager for two years, then moved into the production manager role. In 2019, I was promoted to plant manager. There is never a typical day at an ethanol facility. I try to incorporate a daily routine, but you never know what the day and/or night will bring and how long your working day will be. When I first get to the plant each day, I review plant performance and begin to set priorities for the day. As the plant manager, I am responsible for all aspects of the plant operations from production, maintenance to the commodities department. I enjoy my job because there are always challenges and opportunities to learn. I am successful because I have a great group of people working with me that have the same passion and concern about their job and work environment. I know that I may not be able to solve every problem, but with my team I know “we got this.” As a woman in ethanol I have never felt that I have been impacted negatively being a woman working in the ethanol industry. I have always believed if you work hard, ask people for help when you need it and try to do right, then respect from peers and managers will come as well. I can remember taking engineering classes in college and a peer pointing out that we were the only two females in the class size of 100 plus. Up to that point, I had never noticed the ratio of women to men in engineering classes. The same holds true working as a woman in the ethanol field. I don’t think about it. I believe having more diversity in any work environment is a benefit. It allows for better decision making and problem solving and, in return, adds value to a business. Working with industry partners I met Tamila Fraser from BASF back when I was in the production role at Columbia. We trialed one of their products, Lutropur MSA. More recently, our corporate engineering team has been collaborating with BASF Enzymes on several different innovative projects. BASF is always willing to help, no matter the issue. A few months back, we lost the beer well agitator gear box and did not have a spare. BASF used their network to try to locate a gearbox and gave us solutions to manage the solids in the beer well, while waiting on a replacement for the gear box.
ETHANOLPRODUCER.COM | 35