By BILL RICHMOND, Winchester News-Gazette city editor
The official ground breaking for the Cardinal Ethanol, 100 million gallon ethanol plant was held Tuesday morning at the edge of a cornfield east of Winchester. Several hundred eager local farmers, investors, state and local government officials and other interested parties crowded into a large tent to stay out of the rain while celebrating the area's latest economic boon.
Randolph County Economic Development Foundation Director Greg Beumer said the ethanol project is the largest single investment by a corporation in the county's history.
State Representative Bill Davis (R-Portland) said the effort leading up to the plant's construction has been a grassroots, community-based project.
"I've never been involved in an economic development project that had more personal meaning," Davis said. "We welcome the $100 million investment, but it means more when it's with local folk. When this plant is up and running it will bring into the community $28 million per year in sales. Think about what that will mean to this community."
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels praised the insight of the group of local investors who for the past several years backed the construction of an ethanol plant in east central Indiana.
"I love the way this happened," Daniels said. "We always said the most important thing to do for this state is to get its economy going. Every job, every dollar of investment helps us along that road to get this state back to its full potential, back to full prosperity.
"I'm happy to tell you congratulations on what you've created- a cutting edge, high tech, world class facility. We will do everything we can to keep this project moving forward."
Daniels said the Cardinal plant will be the 17th ethanol plant in the state, making Indiana a leader in producing alternative fuels.
Ron Fagen, president of Fagen Inc., the company who will build the plant, said because the plant is owned by local investors means profits from its operation will stay in the area.
"We're going to build as fast as we can," Fagen said. "We're going to work very hard to make you a first class, top-of-the-line plant. Twenty five years from now, this plant will still be purring like a tomcat and making you guys money."
Fagen has been involved in the construction of more ethanol plants than any other company in the industry.
Matt Hartwig, a representative of the Renewable Fuels Association, a national trade association representing the ethanol industry, said there are 106 ethanol plants in 19 states in the US. There are 45 additional plants under construction and seven are expanding.
Cardinal Ethanol President Troy Prescott, who originally conceived of the idea for the local plant and has been a constant, tireless promoter, said he has been working in the fields lately and was not aware of the scale of the day's ceremony. He was also surprised when his family presented him with 100 colorful helium balloons representing the $100 million investment raised to build the plant. Prescott ceremoniously released the balloons into the air just before the ground breaking.
Governor Daniels said his office has looked into the issue and "there's no question" whether there is enough corn available locally to support the plant.
Cardinal Ethanol has hired Fagen, a Granite Falls, Minn., company, to construct the 100 million gallon per year ethanol plant. The plant will be on a 289-acre site on US Highway 32 between Winchester and Union City. The plant will also produce 320,000 tons of distillers' grain, a high-grade livestock feed.
When completed, the local plant will likely be one of the largest ethanol producers in the state of Indiana, providing approximately 50 new jobs.
Prescott said wells will be drilled at the site in a couple of weeks. He said construction of the plant will begin when the weather breaks next spring with a projected completion date of summer 2008.