Central States Enterprises to build ethanol production plant in Blackford County

HEATHROW, Fla., May 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Central States Enterprises Inc., with headquarters in Heathrow, Florida, today announced plans to build a new corn ethanol facility in Blackford County, Indiana. The plant will be located on the company's real estate adjacent to its present grain terminal in Montpelier.

The facility, with the construction process slated to begin in the late summer of 2006, will consume approximately 41 million bushels of corn annually, producing 100 to 110 million gallons of ethanol and 376 thousand tons of distillers dried grains, a high quality feed ingredient fed to livestock and poultry.

The $150 million project will provide 200 jobs during construction and will create about 40 new permanent jobs when in operation. In addition to being among the largest facilities of its type in the U.S., the plant will employ the newest, state-of-the-art technology available to the industry.

Investment partners include Central States Enterprises, GROWMARK, Inc. ( http://www.growmark.com/ ), a diversified farmer-owned cooperative based in Bloomington, Ill., plus other equity participants. Delta-T Corporation of Williamsburg, Va., along with their Alliance Partners of TE Ibberson of Minneapolis, Minn. and TIC - The Industrial Company of Steamboat Springs, Col., have been appointed design-build contractors.

In commenting on the company's decision to build the ethanol plant in Montpelier and Blackford County, Richard Shura, president of Central States Enterprises, said, "In the mid-1990's, we considered a variety of sites in Indiana for the construction of a new terminal grain facility. We were quite impressed with the local support for agri-business at that time. The area's ongoing support has been critical in our decision to build once again in Montpelier and Blackford County."

GROWMARK chief executive officer Bill Davisson added, "GROWMARK has been marketing ethanol-blended fuels for more than 20 years, and demand for the product continues to grow. An investment in the production of ethanol is a natural extension of our marketing efforts."

The investment group has been cooperating with the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC) and Blackford County (Indiana) EDC in developing an incentive plan to help support the success of the project. "The decision by Central States Enterprises to continue to invest in Indiana reflects a growing confidence in the business climate in our state," said Michael S. Maurer, Secretary of Commerce and IEDC president. "We're working hard to grow and strengthen our economy to attract investments like this, which benefit all Hoosiers."

Mindy Kenworthy, Executive Director of Blackford County Economic Development Corp., said, "Central States has been a great asset to the Blackford County community since arriving in 1998. They have contributed to the tax base over the years through growth and expansion. And, with the announcement of the ethanol facility, the company will have a major impact on jobs and investment not only for the county, but the northeast region of the state. The City of Montpelier, Blackford County and the Economic Development Corporation look forward to working with them again on this latest expansion."

Central States Enterprises Inc. is a privately owned agricultural company. Established in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1969, Central States Enterprises provides grain handling and grain merchandising services, and produces and distributes animal feed products to a diversified customer base in North America.