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Iowa and Ethanol Trade Secrets

The Trade Secrets Blog reports Broin and Associates, has sued a former Iowa ethanol plant operations manager and a former maintenance technician for misappropriation of trade secrets. Broin operates plants in Iowa and licenses ethanol plant design and operation technology to various plants.

The employees named in the lawsuit, Gary Hanson and Robert Akers, worked at the Horizon Ethanol plant in Jewell, Iowa before leaving for the Sterling Ethanol plant in Colorado. Jewell is just north of Ames. Broin has a confidentiality agreement with Horizon requiring plant employees to sign non-disclosure and two-year non-compete agreements.

The case is Horizon Ethanol LLC et al v. Gary T. Hanson and Robert A. Akers, case number 3:07-cv-03017-MWB in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

Brett Trout

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