Rock Oil Refining completes circle to transform waste into energy
CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
THE RECORD-REVIEW Rock Oil Refining Inc. in rural Stratford is one of only two Wisconsin based businesses that currently pick up used oil, recycle it, and then sell and deliver it to other businesses, according to Rock Oil co-owner Dave Feemster. The only other company is Halron Lubricants which has its headquarters in Green Bay. Self-taught electrician Sylvester Rock founded Rock Refining Company in 1950 on a four-acre corner piece of land located south of Rock Road where the current business is located in the town of Cleveland. Rock picked up used oil from businesses and developed a process of filtering it. He would then sell the recycled oil to area cheese factories to operate their steam boilers. “It was less expensive for cheese factories to buy used oil as an alternative fuel than new oil for their steam boilers,” Feemster said. “Sylvester really didn’t think of his new idea as recycling but rather as a way of providing for his family..”
When Sylvester started his business he had to convince businesses to save the used oil for him rather than dumping it or using as dust suppression. One of his first used oil clients was the military base at Fort McCoy. He frequented Fort McCoy hunting for army surplus supplies and managed to get them to save their used oil for him as well.
Rock retired after 35 years of owning and op- erating Rock Refining Co. He sold the business to his three sons Alan, Mike and Peter Rock and his son-in-law, Dave Feemster, in May of 1986. They inherited 17 cheese factories from Rock to supply fuel made from used oil for their steam boilers. Sylvester had also developed a market with a local asphalt producer which transferred to the new business. The name of the new company was changed from Rock Refining Co. to Rock Oil Refining Inc.
Prior to the ownership transfer there were no specific federal government regulations on businesses collecting and recycling used oil and then marketing it to companies for reuse. During the 1980’s the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was considering “listing” used oil as a “hazardous waste” which caused the boys to hesitate on moving forward as they felt this decision would result in a very stringent set of rules in which to operate the business. In 1985 the EPA made a decision and set into law a set of “Used Oil Regulations” which classified used oil as a “solid waste”
ROCK OIL REFINING PHOTO
