Full Name
Rudi Roeslein
Job Title
CEO
Company
Roeslein & Associates, Inc. - Renewables
Speaker Bio
Rudi Roeslein is an entrepreneur, engineer, conservationist, and renewable energy pioneer whose career spans more than five decades of industrial innovation and environmental leadership.
Roeslein grew up in south St. Louis after immigrating to the United States from Austria with his parents in 1956. He attended Saint Louis University, where he earned a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1971, often joking that he majored in soccer and minored in engineering. A standout collegiate athlete, Roeslein was a member of Saint Louis University’s 1967 NCAA Division I championship soccer team, which was inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame in 2021. He continues to credit the camaraderie, discipline, and cooperation he learned through soccer as foundational to his business success.
Roeslein began his professional career in the engineering department at Container Corporation of America, a composite can manufacturing company, where he gained early exposure to modular design and project execution as a project manager overseeing proprietary machinery installations and startups. He later expanded these concepts at GISMO, rising to Executive Vice President, before briefly serving as Director of International Business.
In January 1990, Roeslein founded Roeslein & Associates, guided by the conviction that American manufacturing could compete globally with the right tools, vision, and workforce. Under his leadership, the company revolutionized large-scale industrial construction through modularization and preassembly. Roeslein & Associates designed, built, and shipped entire beverage can manufacturing systems worldwide, completing projects ranging from $60 million to $125 million. By fabricating up to 70 percent of construction activities in its Red Bud, Illinois facility, the company reduced project timelines from 24 months to less than 12 months while achieving operational efficiencies exceeding 90 percent within the first year.
Today, Roeslein & Associates is a global engineering, modular fabrication, and construction firm employing more than 1,200 people across the United States, Europe, Brazil, and Asia, with completed projects in over 60 countries across six continents.
In 2010, Roeslein & Associates entered the energy sector, completing major ethanol
projects for Abengoa. During this period, Roeslein became deeply engaged with anaerobic digestion technologies and distributive control and power systems, recognizing their potential for renewable energy production. This exploration coincided with his growing interest in alternatives to drop-in liquid fuels and energy solutions that could deliver ecological benefits alongside economic returns.
In 2012, led by his true passion for sustainable energy, wildlife, and prairie restoration, Roeslein founded Roeslein Alternative Energy (RAE), now Roeslein Renewables.
Roeslein Renewables is an operator and developer of renewable energy production facilities that convert agricultural and industrial waste, along with renewable biomass
feedstocks, into renewable natural gas (RNG) and sustainable co-products. Roeslein Renewables has since become a national leader in RNG production and anaerobic
digestion project and technology development, advancing practical solutions to climate change, waste reduction, and pollution.
Roeslein’s commitment to conservation extends beyond business. He actively practices the land stewardship he advocates on his own Missouri farms, including an 1,850-acre farm in Putnam County and a 1,350-acre farm in Osage County. Across these properties he is focused on restoring native prairie ecosystems and reconstructing riparian areas to improve water quality, soil health, and wildlife habitat.
In 2023, a partnership of 13 public and private entities led by Roeslein Renewables secured an $80 million grant through the USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program. Under Roeslein’s leadership, more than 5,000 acres of prairie were established within the first 18 months of the project. Efforts are underway to continue this work through USDA’s Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) grant program to restore 40,000 acres of prairie.
Roeslein’s career has been recognized with numerous honors, including Prairie Landowner of the Year from the Missouri Prairie Foundation; Air Conservationist of the Year and Corporate Conservationist of the Year from the Conservation Federation of Missouri; the Energy Vision Leadership Award and “Friend of the ABC” recognition from the American Biogas Council; the Alumni Merit Award from Saint Louis University; the National Lewis and Clark Conservation Award; and the Missouri Heritage Foundation Award. His companies have been named a Best Place to Work by the St. Louis Business Journal, ranked among the Top 150 Privately Held Businesses in Greater St. Louis, and featured nationally for innovative business models.
Through engineering excellence, entrepreneurial leadership, and an unwavering commitment to conservation, Rudi Roeslein has demonstrated that industry, renewable
energy, and ecological restoration can advance together while delivering lasting economic and environmental impact.
Roeslein grew up in south St. Louis after immigrating to the United States from Austria with his parents in 1956. He attended Saint Louis University, where he earned a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1971, often joking that he majored in soccer and minored in engineering. A standout collegiate athlete, Roeslein was a member of Saint Louis University’s 1967 NCAA Division I championship soccer team, which was inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame in 2021. He continues to credit the camaraderie, discipline, and cooperation he learned through soccer as foundational to his business success.
Roeslein began his professional career in the engineering department at Container Corporation of America, a composite can manufacturing company, where he gained early exposure to modular design and project execution as a project manager overseeing proprietary machinery installations and startups. He later expanded these concepts at GISMO, rising to Executive Vice President, before briefly serving as Director of International Business.
In January 1990, Roeslein founded Roeslein & Associates, guided by the conviction that American manufacturing could compete globally with the right tools, vision, and workforce. Under his leadership, the company revolutionized large-scale industrial construction through modularization and preassembly. Roeslein & Associates designed, built, and shipped entire beverage can manufacturing systems worldwide, completing projects ranging from $60 million to $125 million. By fabricating up to 70 percent of construction activities in its Red Bud, Illinois facility, the company reduced project timelines from 24 months to less than 12 months while achieving operational efficiencies exceeding 90 percent within the first year.
Today, Roeslein & Associates is a global engineering, modular fabrication, and construction firm employing more than 1,200 people across the United States, Europe, Brazil, and Asia, with completed projects in over 60 countries across six continents.
In 2010, Roeslein & Associates entered the energy sector, completing major ethanol
projects for Abengoa. During this period, Roeslein became deeply engaged with anaerobic digestion technologies and distributive control and power systems, recognizing their potential for renewable energy production. This exploration coincided with his growing interest in alternatives to drop-in liquid fuels and energy solutions that could deliver ecological benefits alongside economic returns.
In 2012, led by his true passion for sustainable energy, wildlife, and prairie restoration, Roeslein founded Roeslein Alternative Energy (RAE), now Roeslein Renewables.
Roeslein Renewables is an operator and developer of renewable energy production facilities that convert agricultural and industrial waste, along with renewable biomass
feedstocks, into renewable natural gas (RNG) and sustainable co-products. Roeslein Renewables has since become a national leader in RNG production and anaerobic
digestion project and technology development, advancing practical solutions to climate change, waste reduction, and pollution.
Roeslein’s commitment to conservation extends beyond business. He actively practices the land stewardship he advocates on his own Missouri farms, including an 1,850-acre farm in Putnam County and a 1,350-acre farm in Osage County. Across these properties he is focused on restoring native prairie ecosystems and reconstructing riparian areas to improve water quality, soil health, and wildlife habitat.
In 2023, a partnership of 13 public and private entities led by Roeslein Renewables secured an $80 million grant through the USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program. Under Roeslein’s leadership, more than 5,000 acres of prairie were established within the first 18 months of the project. Efforts are underway to continue this work through USDA’s Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) grant program to restore 40,000 acres of prairie.
Roeslein’s career has been recognized with numerous honors, including Prairie Landowner of the Year from the Missouri Prairie Foundation; Air Conservationist of the Year and Corporate Conservationist of the Year from the Conservation Federation of Missouri; the Energy Vision Leadership Award and “Friend of the ABC” recognition from the American Biogas Council; the Alumni Merit Award from Saint Louis University; the National Lewis and Clark Conservation Award; and the Missouri Heritage Foundation Award. His companies have been named a Best Place to Work by the St. Louis Business Journal, ranked among the Top 150 Privately Held Businesses in Greater St. Louis, and featured nationally for innovative business models.
Through engineering excellence, entrepreneurial leadership, and an unwavering commitment to conservation, Rudi Roeslein has demonstrated that industry, renewable
energy, and ecological restoration can advance together while delivering lasting economic and environmental impact.
Speaking At
