Ethanol plant builder to expand Merrill facility

Merrill, Wis. - Worldwide ethanol production will exceed 15 billion gallons in 2007, and a Wisconsin construction company is expanding its local headquarters to help the state get a larger piece of the action.

Agra Industries, Inc., which was founded upon the acquisition of the agricultural division of Merrill Iron & Steel, will build an addition to its Merrill facility to accommodate the creation of 10 to 20 new jobs. The company offers design, fabrication, and construction services for new facilities, including ethanol plants.

The company said the expansion is in response to the tremendous growth of the Wisconsin ethanol industry. Wisconsin has five ethanol production facilities that will produce a combined 200 million gallons of the blended fuel this year. Two more Wisconsin plants are scheduled to go on line by year's end, and there are growing opportunities to build plants outside the state. The United States now has more than 100 plants up and running, with another 50 plants in the planning or construction stages, according to the Wisconsin Ag Connection.

To meet the federal government's annual production goal of 75 billion gallons a year, the nation would need to build 1,500 plants that produce 50 million gallons a year, the Ag Connection says.

Keller, Inc., a general contractor with offices in five Wisconsin communities, is scheduled to begin construction on the Agra Industries addition early next month. Completion is expected by year's end. Agra Industries did not release any details about the size or cost of the addition.

Related stories

• Doyle, Kind call for higher renewable fuel standard

• Tom Still: The science is clear: Ethanol yields a net increase in energy

• Joint Finance blocks Doyle ethanol measure

• Tom Still: Wisconsin’s promising bio-refining future won’t run on ethanol alone

• Governor wants $2 million for biofuels in budget