Company

Our Company

For three decades and counting, we have honored our mission to promote a clean, sustainable energy future through the community-based production of renewable fuels.

We are Pacific Biodiesel®, the nationʻs longest operating biodiesel producer. Our company created the first retail biodiesel pump in America and today we are recognized worldwide as innovative pioneers in the biofuels industry. Our community-based model of regenerative agriculture and renewable energy is helping to fight climate change, support energy security, bolster food security and grow Hawaiʻi’s circular economy.

Who We Are

What We Do

Why We Do It

Founded on Maui in 1995, Pacific Biodiesel® is America’s longest operating biodiesel producer and has been the only commercial producer of liquid biofuels in Hawai’i for three decades.

Today, with nearly 100 employees statewide, our company annually produces 6 million gallons of biodiesel – a 100% renewable fuel that’s sold entirely in Hawai’i. Our refinery on Hawaiʻi Island utilizes advanced technology to produce premium distilled biodiesel, generated from used cooking oil we recycle from restaurants statewide as well as oil from sunflowers and other crops we regeneratively farm on Maui and Kaua’i.

Our mission has been the same since Day One: To promote a clean, sustainable energy future through the community- based production of renewable fuels.

Paving The Way For Positive Change

It started with a problem.

In 1995, our founder Bob King, also a diesel mechanic, saw haulers dumping a disturbing amount of used cooking oil from restaurants into the Central Maui landfill.

It spurred a question.

Could that waste oil be recycled into something useful, even helpful?

It inspired a movement.

To build a biodiesel business that makes a difference to our environment, our industries and our community. Over the last 30 years, we have grown from a small-scale plant on Maui to our world class refinery today on Hawai’i Island. In all, we built 13 facilities across the mainland U.S. and even one in Japan. Along with infrastructure, we’ve built relationships – with restaurants around Hawai‘i that recycle used cooking oil with us; with businesses and consumers who put our biodiesel into use; with advocates and supporters who believe in our mission and help to further our cause. We have expanded into regenerative agriculture on two islands, farming sustainable crops like sunflowers with a motto of “food first, then fuel.” More ideas and opportunities are taking root as we grow, with a reverent nod to our past and a mindful eye on the future.

Leadership Team

Bob King

Founder and President

Kelly Takaya King

Co-Founder and Vice President

Jenna Long

Director of Operations

Jan Alejandro

Controller

Joy Galatro

Marketing Director

James Twigg-Smith

Director of Agriculture Operations

Alfred Leung

Plant Manager, Hawaiʻi Island Refinery

Brian Leighton

Oahu Plant Manager

Dana Shinsato

Fleet Manager

Jason Imamura

Neighbor Islands Operations Manager

Christopher Long

Sales Manager

Ian Martins

Human Resources Manager

“If we’re going to get there by 2045, we can’t start in 2040. These are expensive, elaborate projects, even the farming. It takes years to get land into production, get the system set up, get the equipment; we’re not going to turn this thing on and off quickly.”

– Bob King, Pacific Biodiesel Founder and President

“Thirty years later, we’re no longer wondering ‘what if’ our community-based model could supply local clean fuel while fighting climate change and supporting our local economy. It does. We are also no longer wondering if regenerative agriculture could feed not only our biodiesel production but also our local community. It is.”

– Kelly King, Pacific Biodiesel Co-founder

“From opening the first retail biodiesel pump in the USA three decades ago to farming the first commercial crop of sunflowers on Maui, Pacific Biodiesel continues to demonstrate a community-based model of renewable fuel and regenerative agriculture thatʻs helping to fight climate change, support Hawaiʻiʻs energy security and food sovereignty, and expand circular economy benefits in our island state.”

– Jenna Long, Pacific Biodiesel Director of Operations

“Our model is one that promotes both food and energy production. In Hawai‘i, we have an acute understanding of our supply chain and the fact that 90% of our state’s food is imported. Hawai‘i is the most isolated archipelago in the world, with the closest major landmass 2,400 miles away. There is an urgent need to increase food and energy production in Hawai‘i to reduce dependence on imported goods and bolster food security across the state.”

– James Twigg-Smith, Pacific Biodiesel Director of Agriculture Operations

“Our innovative off-grid biodiesel fueling stations bring new capabilities to our customers, like the ability to remotely check pricing on their smartphones and provide free fleet management software access for commercial customers.”

– Chris Long, Pacific Biodiesel Sales Manager

“Hawaiʻi’s restaurants may not realize this, but by recycling their UCO with Pacific Biodiesel, they are part of the renewable energy solution for our island state. By working with our local company, restaurants are making a positive impact on the environment and our local economy.”

– Dana Shinsato, Fleet Manager for Pacific Biodiesel

Longtime Supporters

Woody Harrelson

Woody and Laura Harrelson were among our earliest influential supporters. Woody sent his environmental attorney in to offer help in those first struggling years. Though we never utilized his attorney, that gesture inspired us to keep going in the most doubtful time of biofuel production.

Willie Nelson

Willie and Annie Nelson started as two of our first biodiesel customers on Maui, and have become longstanding friends. Willie, a music legend and a respected advocate for America’s farmers for decades, was instrumental in building credibility for our emerging fuel technology, especially among America’s truckers. Willie helped make biodiesel trustworthy and cool.

John Paul DeJoria

As co-founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems and The Patrón Spirits Company, John Paul DeJoria learned about us through his friendship with Willie. We are honored to have his continued support.

Jack Johnson

Kim and Jack Johnson — champions for regenerative farming, the environment, art and music, especially for Hawai‘i’s youth — have been steady supporters while entering into the world of farming on O’ahu themselves.

Cameron Healy

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Cameron Healy is a longtime investor and partner in Pacific Biodiesel. As the 1978 founder of Kettle Foods in Salem, Oregon – best known for its Kettle brand potato chips – he made an important switch with his used cooking oil in the early 2000s. Instead of giving it away to a rendering company for disposal, Healy aligned with a small biodiesel co-op in the Salem area, which eventually expanded into a biodiesel processing operation known as Sequential. That connected him with Bob and Kelly King and the Oregon plant, called Sequential Pacific Biodiesel, which opened in 2005.

Sol Yoshida

Sol Yoshida is credited for bringing biodiesel to the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, and he partnered with Pacific Biodiesel to make it happen. As the owner of nearly 60 KFC restaurants around Japan and an organizer of the Olympic Games, Yoshida wanted to develop a biodiesel plant so event crowds could see the impact of renewable fuels and conservation directly. Pacific Biodiesel crews worked efficiently to build the plant (in just over a year!), then began collecting used cooking oil from Yoshida’s KFC restaurant right across from the Olympic stadium. The fuel produced from the oil then went back to that KFC, which became known as the first restaurant of its kind to be powered by 100% renewable energy.

Jim Evanoff

An early supporter and true champion of biodiesel, Jim Evanoff transferred to Yellowstone National Park in 1988, where he made a commitment to bring about a more sustainable national park, preserving and protecting the land for future generations. Bob King met Evanoff in 1995 at the very first meeting of biodiesel producers, held at the park. As the Environmental Protection Specialist, Evanoff decided to run the now-famous Yellowstone diesel pickup truck on 100% biodiesel. By 2008 the truck had driven almost 200,000 miles and was still running strong using B100 all year round! The “Truck in the Park” project showcased the benefits of biodiesel and inspired more national parks and communities to use the biofuel in their vehicles.

Meaningful Careers, Culture & Values

We’re a team of more than 100 employees throughout the state, proudly working together to make a positive impact on the environment and our community.

Thanks to our amazing team, Pacific Biodiesel has been named among our state’s “Best Places to Work” by Hawai‘i Business magazine since 2011!

Ready to make a difference? Come join our team! Contact us regarding current job openings at Pacific Biodiesel or apply for a position.

Careers

Pacific Biodiesel is an equal opportunity employer.

Our Company Values

We strive for sustainability in our impact on the environment, economy and community.

We practice continual improvement in quality of products and services.

We value good relationships with colleagues, customers, suppliers, others in the industry and the community.

We believe in collaboration and cooperation–it takes all of us, working as a team across the islands with our communities, to achieve our vision for a more sustainable Hawaiʻi.

We walk the talk.

Kākou is Our Culture

In the Hawaiian language, Kākou means “us” or “everyone,” symbolizing inclusivity, collective responsibility and collaboration. We have great respect for this Hawaiian concept of unity, and do our best to reflect it in our company values and actions at Pacific Biodiesel.

Latest Company Happenings

Pacific Biodiesel Completes First “Sunflower” Biodiesel Delivery from Its Kauaʻi Ag Operations

On June 24, 2025, Pacific Biodiesel made its first delivery of biodiesel produced with sunflower oil from the company’s expanded agriculture operations on Kauaʻi to longtime customer Hawaiian Electric for its 50-megawatt Schofield Generating Station on O’ahu.

Corn Crop Sprouts up in Kaumakani

July 14, 2025 This summer, our newest crop sprouting up in Kaumakani is… feed corn! This crop, a non-GMO variety that’s suitable for human and animal consumption, will be harvested initially for local chicken feed.

KIUC and Pacific Biodiesel Featured on KITV4

KIUC’s efforts to reach 100% renewable electricity production, supported by locally produced 100% renewable fuel supplied by Pacific Biodiesel, were recently featured on KITV4, reported by Kaua‘i’s own Lei Uʻi Kaholokula.

Locations

Pacific Biodiesel – Maui Headquarters

2050 Main Street Suite 3B
Wailuku, HI 96793

Pacific Biodiesel – Honolulu

1003 Makepono Street,
Honolulu, HI 96819

Pacific Biodiesel Refinery

16-240 Mikahala Street
Keaau, HI 96749

Pacific Biodiesel Mill

1 Kaumakani Avenue, House 437
Kaumakani, HI 96747