Wabash Plain Dealer staff report
Wabash AgriProducts Inc., received a $39.9 million Volume Cap allocation from the Indiana Finance Authority, Bill Konyha, president and CEO of the Economic Development Group of Wabash County, announced
Wabash AgriProducts is the anchor tenant of the agricultural industrial park, which is being developed by EDG in the southern part of Wabash County just south of LaFontaine.
The firm is developing an 88-million-gallon per year ethanol production facility, a portion of which qualifies for financing as solid waste disposal.
Each year, the state sets aside allocations to allow for the financing to be tax exempt on such facilities.
Tax-exempt bonds are a significant financing feature for the project. Both the Indiana Economic Development Commission and the Indiana Department of Agriculture issued letters of support and recommendation for the project.
Wabash AgriProducts has committed to close the financing by mid-September.
The facility will be situated on approximately 50 acres within the ag industrial park, and is expected to create 40-50 jobs with average wages of approximately $45,000 per year. The total capital investment anticipated for this project is around $200 million.
"This award is very important to the development of the ag/industrial park as it enhances the viability of the Wabash AgriProducts, Inc., ethanol production facility," Konyha said. "The long range plan is to create a true 'life-cycle' park with complimentary business uses."
According to Konyha, the park will combine two community strengths, agriculture and manufacturing. He said that jobs to be created by the facility will "require skills and provide something more than livable wages."
Additionally, more than 33 million bushels of corn will be purchased locally each year and the facility will produce approximately 300,000 tons of Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) as feed each year for local livestock.
VIESTE LLC, and its sister company, International Facilities Group, will provide capital program management, oversight services and funding sources for the ethanol production facility. They also have provided services for capital management projects with an aggregate value in excess of $3 billion.
VIESTE is actively engaged in similar alternative energy initiatives throughout the Midwest.