Ethanol Maker Altra Breaks Ground for Ohio Plant
Date: 12-Jul-06
Country: US
The US$100 million plant in Coshocton is to begin production by October 2007, said Larry Gross, president and chief executive officer of Altra, a privately held firm.
Aiming to become one of the biggest ethanol and biofuels producers in the United States, Altra plans to purchase and expand ethanol plants and building new ones like the one in Coshocton.
"We're looking to build a national footprint of ethanol plants across the country from the West Coast to the East Coast and places in between," Gross said in a telephone interview.
The Coshocton plant is the second owned by Altra. Last week, it completed the purchase of a 25,000 gallon-per-year plant in Goshen in central California. Gross said Altra plans to expand production there to 35,000 gallons per year.
The Ohio plant is officially to be owned by Coshocton Ethanol LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Altra Inc.
"As energy prices escalate and our energy needs grow, we must focus on curtailing our dependence on foreign oil and developing our own clean, affordable sources of energy," Ohio Governor Bob Taft said. "Today's ground-breaking confirms Ohio's strength as an agricultural state and reaffirms our commitment to renewable energy sources."
The plant will employ 41, Gross said. The Goshen plant employs 28.
Altra's lead investors include several prominent private equity firms and funds including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Omninet Private Equity LLC, Sage Capital Partners L.P., Angeleno Group LLC and Khosla Ventures.
Ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, is made mainly from corn. It is mixed with gasoline to help it burn cleaner.
Current US production of ethanol, according to the Renewable Fuels Association, is about 4.8 billion gallons per year or about 330,000 barrels per day. Oil industry experts say that must rise about 1.5 billion gallons yearly or 100,000 bpd to meet growing demand.
In the meantime, exports from countries such as Brazil are expected to meet demand.
