AOCS Member Spotlight
Stan Pala, Global Director, Oilseeds, featured in new series
The American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS) recently launched a new member series as a way to learn more about different companies and what they do to improve the science and technology of oils, fats, surfactants and more.
In June, Sterling Bollman, the head of Advertising and Sponsorship Sales at AOCS, talked with Stan Pala, the Global Director, Oilseeds at Solex Thermal Science. Read below for the highlights. Click here to read the full feature.
Hi Stan! Thanks for taking the time to talk to us and teach us more about Solex Thermal Science! How would you describe the products or services your company provides?
Solex specializes in applying proven thermal science to the heating, cooling and drying of free-flowing bulk solids. Over the past 30 years, we have helped industries across the world change the way they bring their products to market through patented industrial heat exchange technology. But we are more than what we build. We impact daily life behind the scenes – whether that is helping to produce better-quality fertilizer that results in higher crop yields, reducing emissions during oilseeds processing, creating safer plastic water bottles or producing a better coffee bean.
I’m sure you have competitors that do similar work in your field. What would you say differentiates Solex Thermal Science from those competitors?
Innovation is at the heart of what we do, and innovation is overlaid on our passion for understanding the processes for heating, cooling and drying bulk solids such as oilseeds. This is represented by an elegant and efficient solution for bulk solids thermal exchange. Our patented plate technology controls product flow by passing free-flowing bulk solids slowly downward between a series of vertical hollow heat exchanger plates. Steam, hot water or thermal oil flows through the plates to heat bulk solids, while a mass flow discharge feeder creates uniform product velocity and regulates product flow rate. The result is a solution that’s simple in its design yet sophisticated with its results, producing near-zero emissions, using energy more efficiently than tube technology and producing a superior end product at a cost savings for our customers.
Wow that sounds incredible! Speaking of innovation, what are some recent innovations or new things that Solex is proudest of?
One of the things we are proudest of here at Solex is our longevity, particularly within the oilseeds industry. We sold our first oilseeds unit in Canada nearly 20 years ago. Today, there are more than 50 installations worldwide, including ones in North America, Europe, South America and, most recently, Asia-Pacific. In the last few years, we have advanced our vertical plate conditioning technology so that oilseed processors have the unique ability to recover waste energy from elsewhere in the plant.
What do you think will be the biggest challenge for Solex Thermal Science for the rest of this year?
The biggest challenge in the coming year will be to adapt our ways of working to the post-pandemic world while continuing to provide best-in-class solutions to our customers in the oilseeds processing industry. The needs for feeding an ever-growing global population is driving the demand for more effective and efficient solutions in our industry. As we are passionate about meeting these needs, we are learning to develop the solutions that our customers ask of us from our work-from-home offices and through digital networking tools.
We have also integrated our sales, design, fabrication and after sales support under one organization with the combination of Solex Thermal Science and Mosman Stainless Steel. We are challenging ourselves to bring the full benefits of our combined expertise to the solutions that we develop for our customers.
This entry was last updated on 2021-8-3
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