Our next guest joins us now.
Say hello to Bob Day, executive VP and CFO at Darling Ingredients.
Nice to see you and thanks for taking some time for us today.
Absolutely, thanks for the opportunity.
And also, you and I are standing here up 1.1% on the day.
Great stock, great tape today.
Talk to me about investor day and what brings you and your team down here to not just visit us but ring the closing bell.
Look, it's been, uh, it's been quite a few years since Darling had an investor day, uh, as everyone knows, we went through the COVID era.
Uh, we've, we've waited a long time for the, uh, renewable Fuel Standard RVO policy, and, and really now that everything is in place, we felt like it was the right time to talk about the company.
So talk to me a little bit more about the company, some of the ways you're turning agricultural waste into profitable products.
What does that process actually look like for you?
Yeah, so we are the largest company in the world that that collects, produces, uh, and, and adds value to animal byproducts and use cooking oil.
There's over 100 million metric tons globally of animal products, animal byproducts that we don't consume as humans, and that product would have released a lot of biomethane into the atmosphere.
We take those products and we add value in the form of proteins that go into animal feed and pet food, collagen that goes into human consumption and nutraceuticals.
And fats that go into making renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel.
I know you're not doing this alone.
You've got a lot of exciting joint ventures.
One of them is with Valero.
You call it your diamond green diesel.
What is it all about and why do you think it's such a big opportunity?
Well, Diamond green diesel is a flagship position for Darling.
We own 50% of that with Valero, as you said.
It is the largest producer of advanced biofuels in the United States and over the last 3 years the largest producer in the world.
Diamond Green Diesel is extremely well positioned to provide alternative fuel supplies to the United States market and global.
Certainly at a time like today that supply is very meaningful as as supply is a bit constrained.
We're really excited about the future because of our ability to repurpose ingredients that otherwise you wouldn't have a home and.
And markets are quite high right now, so we're excited about that.
It doesn't matter.
Well, overall, the stock markets at all-time highs, I imagine a lot of bullish enthusiasm for the space that you're in and the fact that you're dualistic, not just here at the stock exchange, but NYSC Texas as well.
Why did that move strategically make sense for you and the firm?
Well, we're based in Texas.
We're headquartered in Irving, uh, you know, we're we're really a big believer in in the Texas growth.
So much is happening in the state.
We want to be supportive and, uh, you know, we're we're happy to be part of the momentum.
Are you a Dallas Cowboys fan by chance?
I'm a Minnesota Vikings fan, but, uh, but I'll support the Cowboys as a as a darling representative.
That's right.
We love Jerry Jones.
I'm a big Giants fan, so I prefer you're a Vikings fan.
Uh, where's the next phase of global growth actually come from?
It's one thing to do the business today, but your projections and optimism for where we go from here.
You know, we tend to follow the growth in animal production.
If you look at what's happening with poultry in the United States, beef and poultry in South America, what's going on in Asia, you know, we've got a lot of growth opportunities.
We're going to continue to see growth in animal byproducts.
In addition, in the collagen space, it's a growing category, really exciting.
We're the most innovative.
Company in the world that are bringing a lot of solutions to personal health and we're going to be really focused on growth in those areas.
What is one thing, one reality of the space of sustainable ingredients, general food waste recycling that would surprise the average American at home, maybe if it's an issue they don't spend a ton of time necessarily thinking about.
I think what would surprise people is how efficient we are, uh, certainly in the United States, but also increasingly globally at recycling that.
These are, these are products that have a really high nutritional value or a high fuel value, and the world and the market has become very efficient at repurposing those things, and we're committed to doing that as a company.
All right, Bob Day, executive VP and CFO at Darling Ingredients, ticker symbol DAR up 1.1% on the day.
Congratulations and thanks for being here.
Thanks for the opportunity.
