Balancing economic viability and environmental impact: I aimed to bring operational efficiency to refineries and petrochemical plants, ensuring profitability while reducing pollution and protecting people's health and the environment.

Driving competitiveness and sustainability: By improving operational excellence, these facilities can remain competitive in the global market, maintain local jobs, and provide critical products for various industries.

Addressing constraints and challenges: Labor shortage, skill shortage, and technology limitations are among the constraints faced by these facilities. Falcon Project Consultants offer expertise, processes, and technology to enhance efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and drive cost-effectiveness.

Helping municipalities and industries thrive: Falcon's services include industrial water treatment, predictive analytics, controls equipment, and providing outside vision and expertise to optimize processes and resources.

Introducing innovative solutions: Falcon identifies opportunities to improve existing systems or introduce new technologies that clients may not be aware of, helping them achieve greater efficiency, cost savings, and environmental benefits.

Episode Summary:

In this episode, host Chad Kaleky interviews Michael Fontaine from Falcon Project Consultants, a company specializing in driving operational excellence for municipal and industrial clients. Michael shares his childhood fascination with refineries and petrochemical plants, acknowledging their economic importance while being aware of their environmental impact. He discusses his journey, from academic pursuits in science and math to gaining firsthand experience in the industry. Michael highlights the need for operational efficiency, addressing constraints such as labor shortage and technology limitations. He emphasizes Falcon's role in optimizing existing systems or introducing innovative technologies to enhance efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and promote competitiveness. Michael concludes by offering advice to aspiring entrepreneurs in the energy space, emphasizing the importance of understanding their "why" and exploring unique problem-solving opportunities.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:00:27 The Refineries

00:01:57 Getting Started in Energy

00:05:56 Jumping into Entrepreneurship

00:10:40 Advice to Entrepreneurs Getting into Energy

00:11:15 Contact Michael