Andersons dedicate Cass County ethanol plant

CLYMERS - Several state and local government officials and many members of Cass County's business community joined corporate heads of The Andersons Inc., as the company officially dedicated The Andersons Clymers Ethanol plant on Saturday.

The event was held just outside the facility, which is capable of producing 110 million gallons of ethanol annually. The plant began production in late April, and as of Saturday, was running at 104 percent capacity.

"We are especially happy to bring this operation to Cass County where we have a generous supply of corn as well as long-standing relationships with local growers," said Mike Anderson, president and CEO of The Andersons Inc., which is based in Ohio. "... It's a really exciting time in agriculture. There is a massive investment going into rural America. It will help the economy on a rural level and it will also help the nation reduce its dependence on foreign oil."

Guest speakers included Sen. Tom Weatherwax, a representative for Sen. Richard Lugar and members of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). All offered their congratulations on the early success of the plant.

Weatherwax, in addition to making his own statement thanking local government and business officials for supporting the project, also read a statement from Gov. Mitch Daniels, who was in Indianapolis on Saturday announcing that he will run for a second term.

"Indiana is paving the way in biofuels leadership," Weatherwax read from Daniels' statement. "Not only will this relieve our dependence on foreign fuels, it will also revitalize the state's rural economy."

Logansport Mayor Mike Fincher, Logansport-Cass County Economic Development Foundation President, Skip Kuker, and members of the Cass County Council and commissioners were among the local community members on hand at the event. Several expressed their hope that the plant will attract other businesses to the Cass County area.

"Personally, I think this is a big step," said commissioner Dave Arnold. "We're in bad need of bringing more industries into Cass County. This is a start. I think it's important to have an industry like this because it will attract more businesses and that will create more jobs."

Groundbreaking for the plant, which is the second for The Andersons and it is the largest, dry-mill ethanol plant east of the Mississippi, was held in April 2006. The plant is now the third of its kind in Indiana, though 12 more are scheduled to begin production next year, including several that are currently under construction.

There are 120 ethanol bio-refineries located in 19 states and RFA representative Matt Hartwig said that ethanol production could reach 12.3 billion gallons nationally by early 2009.

"Ethanol is having an undeniable impact on rural economies," said Hartwig. "... We're making a statement as a country about where our energy future lies. It's not about our reliance on fossil fuels and petroleum, it's about our reliance on American biofuels."