Oils and Fats

Josef Barbi serves as President of ESE, a company within the Midland Industrial Group, specializing in the design, engineering, manufacturing, and refurbishment of processing equipment, systems, and complete processing plants. The company supports a broad range of sectors, including feed, food, grain, soy/soya, cereals, ingredients, by-products, waste recovery, and vegetable protein-based foods.

Based in southeastern Kansas, USA, ESE delivers solutions to the agriculture, pet food, and aquaculture industries across global markets, including North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

As President, Josef leads the company’s strategic direction and global operations, driving innovation in processing technologies and delivering integrated solutions that enhance efficiency and performance across diverse manufacturing applications.

Daniel Martelozo Consalter is the CEO of Fine Instrument Technology (FIT) and holds a PhD in Applied Physics from the São Carlos Institute of Physics at the University of São Paulo (IFSC–USP), specializing in instrumentation for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR).

He has led the development of SpecFIT magnetic resonance equipment and its applications, delivering innovative solutions for both industry and research. These technologies are currently used in more than 50% of palm oil mills across Latin America.

His work focuses on the development of advanced solutions, technologies, and equipment applied across multiple sectors, including oils and fats, citrus, food, soils, industrial processes, and polymers.

Wim De Greyt graduated in 1988 as Engineer in Food Technology from the Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences at the University of Ghent, Belgium. He obtained a PhD degree at the same University in 1998 with a study on  ‘Effect of Physical Refining on Selected Minor Components in Vegetable Oils’.

He worked as  Research Assistant at the Department of Food Technology & Nutrition from the University of Ghent from 1989 until 1998. Later he joined Extraction De Smet where he worked first as R&D project leader and from 2000 as R&D Manager. Early 2024, he was appointed as R&D director at Desmet and since beginning of 2026, he is also the Innovation director.  He is managing all R&D activities in the 3 Innovation Centers of Desmet situated in Belgium, France and Malaysia. 

He is (co-) author of more than 55 scientific papers and known as presenter at international conferences and workshops.  He is a member of the American Oil Chemist Society since 1996 and was from 2009 till 2024  also chairman of the Processing Division of EuroFed Lipid. In this position, he was  a Member of the Scientific Committee of the several EuroFed Lipid conferences and most recently the ISF conference that was organized in Rosario (Argentina) in 2025.

Yannick Farine serves as the Industry Manager Biofuels & Bioenergy at the company of Krohne, specializing in process instrumentation for challenging application across the biofuels value chain.

He has held various local and international roles within the company, bringing seven years of experience in process instrumentation to the edible oil sector.

He is driven by solving complex technical challenges and translating them into practical, value-driven solutions that deliver impactful results to the customer.

Dr. Véronique Gibon graduated from the University of Namur (Belgium) with a PhD in Chemistry and began her career as an assistant professor, where she led a research unit specializing in oils and fats crystallography. She later headed the R&D department at Fractionnement Tirtiaux (Belgium), an engineering company focused on oils and fats refining.

She subsequently joined the R&D and Innovation Center at Desmet (Belgium), a leading company in oils and fats refining, where she served as R&D and Science Manager. With more than 40 years of professional experience in edible oil processing, spanning both industry and academia, she now works as an independent consultant through her company, Artemis Lipids by VG.

Dr. Gibon is also the author of numerous scientific publications and has delivered presentations worldwide on oils and fats.

Andrew Logan is the Regional Business Manager – Europe for the Edible Oil Systems business unit at Alfa Laval. He is a Chemical Engineer and has worked for Alfa Laval for more than 30 years. His work at Alfa Laval is primarily focused on providing solutions to customers processing edible or technical fats & oils.