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PROTEINS from 11
like we’re a nameless, faceless
large corporation; we have five
generations of Bagwells that have
lived here and we have 200
employees.”
He chuckles. “I hope after all
the changes we’ve made on our
house, we’ll spend the rest of our
natural lives here,” he says. “My
wife and I have two sets of twins
in the public schools here and we
put our money where
our mouth is. We have
better odor control in
that feather dryer than
most south Georgia
plants and are investing
an additional $300,000
to $400,000 that we
don’t have to spend; we are doing
it voluntarily.”
While Bagwell is confident
that the completion of construc
tion renovations currently under
way will dramatically ease the
odoriferous burden, he is also
investing millions in state-of-the
;art biofiltering techniques which
he believes will lead any other
facility in odor control.
“We were experiencing declin
ing odor complaints at the same
time the population was increas
ing,” says Bagwell, his pride evi
dent. “But the plant has been here
since ’sl and so we budgeted $4
million to make building renova
tions to make the plant seal up bet
ter. In all, it should take about
’three years, but that in itself will
help.
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; “Only problem is, to accom
; plish that, we had to take the roof
: off back in November and I have
I to apologize for the smell since
then,” he continues. “We will dis-
I continue the work during the
warm weather months, April
through September, and that
’ should help.”
; During the meetings last year
in which the Forsyth County
; AMERICAN PROTONS, NG
ny, Bagwell’s objec
tions to the proposal’s monetary
terms brought out pointed criti
cism of American Proteins’ odor
from a county commissioner.
One of two partners in
Lanierland Country Music Park,
Bagwell apologized for the odor,
and advised the commission of the
company’s continuing investment
in technology to address the prob
lem. He also maintained his oppo
sition was based only on the
impact of proposed terms on tax
payers, not on his investments in
the entertainment business.
But he is resting his greatest
hopes on biofilters, which biologi
cally consume odors. American
Proteins is the only rendering
plant in Georgia utilizing the new
technology, and one of very few in
the nation, perhaps because of the
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY
Industrial Authority
and Forsyth County
Commissioners were
entertaining discus
sions of an amphithe
ater proposal from an
Atlanta-based compa-
lx '
ti K SSIi ® f
Photo/Cheryl Vaughn
Protecting the environment is a top priority for Tommy Bagwell.
great expense.
“The biofilter is a whole lot
better than the scrubbers,” he says.
“But they’re less reliable because
of temperature and interactive fac
tors to grow the bacteria. We’re
trying to conduct research here
and if we can figure out their oper
ation, we’ll be well on our way to
limiting odor to the mile around
us.”
Bagwell, 53, has been at the
company’s helm since his father
passed away in 1972 and he says it
is a privilege and a responsibility.
“In the late ’4os, my father was
in the poultry-raising business, but
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the chicken business was like the
hog business now volatile,” he
says. “People made money one
year and lost everything the next.
My father didn’t feel he could
weather the fluctuations, so he
built a rendering plant with a cou
ple of investors.”
In those days, chicken feathers
and a lot of by-product meat still
were being thrown away, he says.
Rendering was a lot less sophisti
cated. Bagwell joined his father’s
team after college graduation,
“idealistic and environmentally
aware, intensely concerned about
industry’s role in society.
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, March 28,1999 I
“I began to handle water and
air quality control and its effects,”
recalls Bagwell, smiling. “I spent
well over $200,000 in 1970 on
odor control scrubbers that
accomplished nothing whatsoever.
They all got taken out and put on
the side of the mountain. Dad just
smiled and said, ‘lt’s not as easy
as you think it is.’”
Suspecting his own poor
health, Bagwell’s father gave his
son early responsibility. Two
years later, the senior Bagwell
died of heart problems.
Since that time, Bagwell has
grown the operation to four ren
dering plants - in addition to
Cumming, there is one in south
Georgia and two in Alabama -
and three feed blending facilities
around the nation.
Using the most up to date
blending technology, AMPRO
Products Inc., a division of
American Proteins, was started in
1988. AMPRO Products special
izes in the production and whole
sale/retail sale of these specially
blended protein products. The
company also works with nutri
tionists at various poultry, pet
food, and aquiculture complexes
to develop and expand the most
acceptable and advanced prod
ucts. AMPRO is a certified testing
laboratory performing analytical
testing for all products on a regu
lar basis as well as for other out
side industries.
Doug Anderson recently joined
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770-886-5800 WR r .
1240 Hwy 20 East
(1 block from Home Depot next to CVS) Br W /
Cumming, Ga., 30041
American Proteins as executive
vice president and chief operating
officer.
Today, American Proteins
operates the largest poultry pro
tein and lipids conversion opera
tion in the world, annually prrr
ducing more than 750,000 tons of
pet foot and feed grade poultry
protein meal, pet food and feed
grade poultry fat and feather meal-.
“The good news is I love being
in business, love challenges, love
having contributed a lot to the
success of the poultry industry,”
he says. “And, environmentally,
you can’t beat recycling. That is
90 million pounds a week that
would otherwise have to be dis r
posed of. And, in recycling, rather
than disposal, there is also added
value as new products are creat
ed.”
And the bad news?
“To have to deal with odor and
water quality,” says Bagwell,
describing his nemesis. “If you’re
not a farmer or in the chicket)
business, you don’t want to sriieD *
that.
“In Georgia, there are ‘Right
to Farm’ laws, where if an agri
cultural operation is in existence,
you can’t claim it's a nuisance hs
population conditions change,” he
continues. “But we don’t believe
as an industry we should hide
behind that law. We are voluntarf
ly making a change and trying to
solve the problem.
“It’s just a matter of time.” ~
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