Owensboro Grain is the latest company to join the ranks of biodiesel producers with the opening of its 50-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant.
This article on Grainnet.com says the biodiesel operation is a natural progression for the 101-year-old company that started out as a small grain merchant:
The company started out shipping corn on barges, according to John Wright, vice president of strategic planning and development, and a fourth-generation family operator of Owensboro Grain.
He says in the 1950s, his grandfather evolved the company into soybean processing, recognizing early on that soybeans would play a significant role in the economy.
“In 1995, we evolved again by getting into vegetable oil-refining, so opening a biodiesel plant is the next progression for us,” Wright said.
“I believe my great-grandfather and grandfather would be extremely proud.”
The company produces 75 million gallons of soybean oil a year, so its feedstock supply seems to be in good shape right now.
The National Biodiesel Board says there are now 151 biodiesel plants across the country pumping $24 million into the U.S. economy.