Web exclusive posted Nov. 20, 2008 at 1:47 p.m. CST

BBI International Inc. has officially launched its ePlantSpace Web site, a social networking platform dedicated to connecting plant managers and other members involved in the ethanol industry.

Mike and Kathy Bryan, co-founders of BBI International, conceived the idea for ePlantSpace because they wanted to rekindle relationships with industry members. They are hopeful that those involved in the ethanol industry will do the same.

"What we're really trying to do with this [Web site] is to simply bring the industry back together again in a more social environment," said BBI International Chief Executive Officer Mike Bryan. "It wasn't that many years ago when Kathy and I knew all the general managers of these plants and all the general managers knew each other. It was like a family atmosphere. As the industry has grown, we've drifted away from that family atmosphere. We hope this will unite plants together."

ePlantSpace contains similar features to that of other Internet social networking sites, such as Facebook and mySpace, where members are required to log in with an account username and password to upload messages, family or industry photos, blogs or a classified ad.

According to Mike Bryan, the site is strictly intended to be a fun, social network for people within the industry looking to get back in touch with other members and is not intended for posting industry news or developments.

The ePlantSpace Web site address is: www.eplantspace.com/.