More VeraSun ethanol plants sold
wo more of the six ethanol plants AgStar
Financial Services lending group acquired last
March in the bankruptcy of VeraSun Energy
have been sold. Both plants were expected to
be back in full operation by about the end of
September. That left all but one of the six plants still to be
sold, as of mid-August.
United Cooperative of Beaver Dam, Wis., acquired the
ethanol plant in Dyersville, Iowa, which has a production
capacity of up to 120 million gallons annually. It was
subsequently announced on Aug. 14 that United Cooperative
had joined forces with Big River Resources LLC, of West
Burlington, Iowa, and Rumbold & Kun Inc., of Wyoming,
Ill., to form Big River United Energy LLC, which will own
the plant. Big River Resources is majority owner and
operates the plant.
Guardian Energy LLC, headquartered in Shakopee,
Minn., has entered into an
agreement to purchase a 100-
million-gallon plant in Janesville,
Minn. Guardian Energy is a wholly
owned subsidiary of Guardian
Eagle Investments, which was
formed to own and operate the
Janesville facility. Made up of farmer
and regionally owned ethanol plants,
Guardian says it “sees great value in
working together to secure local ownership and to retain the
value created at the local level.”
AgStar, headquartered in Mankato, Minn., and a part of
the producer-owned Farm Credit System, will continue to
provide financing for operations of both plants. Terms of the
sales were not announced.
Renewable Products Marketing Group (RPMG) will
provide marketing services for Guardian Energy’s plant in
Janesville. Founded as a cooperative marketing service group
for Minnesota ethanol producers, RPMG has grown to be
the third largest ethanol marketer in the United States.
“Our group of farmer-owned ethanol producers is very
excited to see this purchase come together,” says Randy
Hahn, a representative of Guardian Energy and CEO of
RPMG. “We strongly believe that the value generated by
converting our locally grown corn into renewable energy
ought to stay here at home. We are committed to keeping
this facility in the hands of local producers and farmers.”
United Cooperative — a full-service cooperative offering,
feed, grain, agronomy, and energy products and services —
started investing in the ethanol industry in 2005. It is an
investor in the Woodbury, Mich., plant, and provides
administrative and information technology services at that
facility. United also holds two of the six seats on the board of
directors. The co-op also is the managing member of United
Ethanol LLC, in Milton, Wis.
Big River Resources was formed as a cooperative in 1992,
later changing into a holding company. Through subsidiaries,
it operates two other ethanol plants with total production
capacity of 190 million gallons per year, and operates a 5.1-
million-bushel grain elevator.
Rumbold & Kun is a family-owned grain business with
eight grain facilities with a 20-million-bushel capacity.
Paul DeBriyn, president and CEO of AgStar, says he
continues to believe in the viability
of the ethanol industry and that
AgStar is pleased that the plants
will be owned and operated by
producers. “Ethanol has
encountered continued volatility,
but recent conditions have shown
signs of stabilization. We’re excited
to know these plants will soon be
operational, creating jobs in rural
areas, purchasing corn, producing ethanol and dried distillers
grain (DDG) for livestock producers.”
It was previously announced that two other former
VeraSun plants that AgStar acquired — in Central City and
Ord, Neb. — had been sold to Green Plains Renewable
Energy of Omaha, Neb., and that a former VeraSun plant, in
Woodbury, Mich., had been sold to Carbon Green
BioEnergy.
Members of Guardian Eagle Investments represent nine
ethanol plants with a total production capacity of more than
500 million gallons per year. The members pride themselves
on their continuous innovation and spirit of cooperation,
Hahn says. It is also a founding member of RPMG.
AgStar Financial Services serve 69 counties in Minnesota
and northwest Wisconsin. As a value-added financial services
cooperative, AgStar allocates patronage dividends to its
13,000 stockholders.
