By ADAM COATES, Banner-Graphic Staff Writer
CLOVERDALE ‹ The business community has invested more than just money in Putnam Ethanol LLC's proposal to build a plant on 150 acres of land just off of Interstate 70 in Warren Township.
They have put all their hopes in the project that planners say will boost the price that local farmers get for their corn and will help make the United States less dependent on foreign oil.
"We looked for a way that we wanted to improve the market for our farmers and at the same time we want to add value to the community," Midland-Impact CEO Kevin Still told a crowd of more than 200 business leaders, local residents and dignitaries who gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony at the site Tuesday morning. "And we feel like this project does that."
Planners of the combination processing plant and refinery say they hope to begin construction of the project in September of this year with a completion date proposed for the fall of 2006.
At that time, the plant will begin processing an estimated 22 million bushels of corn per year - 100 percent coming from Midland-Impact - producing not only ethanol for the fuel industry but a number of by-products to be sold to markets around the world.
Putnam Ethanol President Mike Kessler said the "food grade" plant will produce corn protein concentrate which will be exported to China and Japan for use in products there.
"We're here, we're local and we will be exporting to markets in other parts of the world," he told the crowd. "It's going to be a big boon to the local economy and to the agricultural economy."
The project has attracted the attention of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels who also attended Tuesday's event along with two members of his staff - Secretary of Commerce Pat Miller and Agricultural Dept. Director Andy Miller.
Daniels said the ethanol plant represents an important component of his plan to revive both the state and local economy.
"This is a huge step forward for Putnam County and this area, but please know it is the first step in terms of an Indiana comeback that is even better," Daniels said. "There is no reason that Indiana, end to end, cannot be merely competitive but a capitol of the renewable fuels industry in this county.
"And today is a big day in this revolution because this is going to be a fundamentally important new facility for this part of Indiana."
Organizers of the project say they will use Indiana labor to construct the plant and plan to hire between 40 and 45 people to operate the plant 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They plan to invest about $150 million in the facility and equipment.
Jim Zegar, Putnam Ethanol's chief financial officer, said the plant will be built with the possibility that it can be doubled in size as future needs dictate, increasing its corn consumption from to 44 million bushels per year.
"We intend to build a plant that you will be proud of," Zegar said. "We will make a significant economic impact here."
Gov. Daniels said he hopes the plant will make a significant impact on the state's overall economy.
"One thing we said from the beginning is that we were going to be the most pro agriculture and agribusiness administration this state had seen in decades," Daniels said. "We also said there was no way back to full prosperity for rural communities that did not include a full commitment to agriculture and all the dollars that can come from it in livestock, in hardwoods, in food processing and a variety of other ways. And at the top of that strategy is renewable fuel."
Greencastle/Putnam County Development Center Director Bill Dory took time following Daniels' remarks to thank the various local agencies that cooperated to bring the project to its current state.
"It's been a community-based team effort to obtain the various local approvals, coordination, incentive packages and others," Dory said. "Officials of the town of Cloverdale and Putnam County have worked hard to put together the various planning and zoning approvals, incentive package and other assistance to bring this project to this point."
