Lake Crystal, MN — Shane Roby has been promoted to General Manager at POET Biorefining—Lake Crystal in Lake Crystal, Minnesota. Roby started his career at POET in 2005 as an Intern in college. He has since held several positions with the company including Process Engineer, Project Engineer, Operations Engineer, and most recently, Processes Engineering Group Manager. Roby has continued to grow and excel in each of his positions with POET.

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

“Our team in Lake Crystal does a fantastic job and I am proud of the role we play in the community,” said Roby.

Nathan Hay, Lake Crystal’s previous General Manager, was promoted to Regional Vice President of Operations. He will remain in the Windom area.

POET Biorefining—Lake Crystal is POET’s 21st ethanol plant. The biorefinery purchases approximately 20 million bushels of corn from the local area and has a production capacity of 56 million gallons of ethanol annually.

The Lake Crystal 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.