By Jay Heater, The Journal Review
Don Endres lives in South Dakota, but here in Montgomery County, he is going to be a very important neighbor.
Endres is the Chairman and CEO of VeraSun Energy Corp., which bought the ethanol plant in Linden from ASAlliances Biofuels LLC in August.
It should be an interesting relationship as ethanol production in the United States continues to soar and VeraSun, which is headquartered in Brookings, S.D., continues to grow. Although the long-term future of ethanol as an important, renewable energy source continues to be debated, there is no disputing the fact that ethanol sales have skyrocketed and will continue to do so at least in the short term.
It appears likely that VeraSun's fortunes will continue to skyrocket as well. VeraSun had revenues of $10.9 million in 2003 and $235.4 in 2005.
That growth could affect Montgomery County residents in a number of ways.
The plant currently employs 65 people and as demand for ethanol rises, it could mean even more jobs.
"At all of our facilities, we have the ability to expand," Endres said. "We purchase real estate with built-in expansion in mind."
If the plant prospers, local farmers should benefit from VeraSun's increasing demand for corn. The plant has been built to process 39 million bushels of corn a year (110 million gallons of ethanol) and expansion could send that figure even higher.
Some local farmers have noted they still are trucking their corn to other buyers because VeraSun isn't paying a top price. However, Endres said local farmers will reap the benefits later when the demand for corn increases.
"We are going to be grinding 100,000 bushels of corn every day," Endres said. "Right now, the market is busy. Producers will find that it's going to benefit them because we grind corn throughout the year."
Creating jobs and pumping dollars into the local economy are positives of expansion, but some residents might worry there could be negatives, such as pollution or unbearable truck traffic. "I would tell people to look at our facility, to come take a visit," Endres said. "They would see that we are a clean operating facility. We have installed the latest in technology. We will have very limited emissions.
"We also work closely with communities to make sure we are not impacting them from a traffic perspective. I would hope people will keep an open mind about us."
Now that VeraSun has operated the facility about a month and has its staff in place, Endres said he is planning a trip to Montgomery County to host an open house at the plant. He knows local residents will have lots of questions.
There have been concerns that while ethanol provides farmers with a new market, it might drive up food costs.
"There are a number of stories out there that are just not fact based," Endres said. "In a box of corn flakes, the price of the corn in that box is less than five cents. Ethanol production will have much more impact on (lowering) transportation costs than (raising) food costs."
Of course, misinformation is part of the problem. Since ethanol's role in our society has increased sharply in a short period of time, people really don't understand it. Endres said education is important, especially in the areas where VeraSun is operating a plant.
"Clearly we will spend time in (Montgomery County), educating them about who we are," he said. "We want to show how we are going to be a good neighbor. Our broader strategy is to educate our consumers. There is a lot of work that needs to go on."
VeraSun Energy Corp. was founded in 2001 and quickly has become one of the largest ethanol producers in the world. It will have nine production plants fully operation by next year, including a plant in Reynolds.
Endres said the Linden plant fit right into his company's master plan. "One, we look for a great community," he said. "That's very important to our business because the people from the community become part of our company. Two, we needed to have plentiful corn in the area. And three, logistics. We need to ship by rail, which we have there.
"But it all starts with the community."
Coming from a fourth generation Midwest farm family, Endres believes in strong community involvement. In South Dakota, he has received numerous awards for his work with the Boys and Girls Club, Holt Adoption Foundation, United Way, Habitat for Humanity and the Catholic Foundation. "We do support some local causes," he said. "We have a track record of doing that. We believe that it's very important that our people are members of the community. We have a responsibility."
He also hopes local farmers understand that he is sympathetic to their problems. "My values were gained through my family farm background," he said.
"If we work with our suppliers and the community, we are going to find ways of doing business that will benefit all of us. That's the proper path. We are a public company (VSE on the New York Stock Exchange) so local people can own a piece of our company. Our focus is to create a great relationship with our communities. If we treat people right, they will do the same to us."