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12/19/2007 11:14:00 AM
Plant Tax Abatement OK'd By County
New construction of bio-diesel plant set to begin at Kingsbury Industrial Park.
Stan Maddux
For The News-Dispatch
LA PORTE - Five million gallons of bio-diesel a year could soon be produced at a plant in Kingsbury that has started going up.
On Monday night, the La Porte County Council unanimously approved a 10-year tax abatement on an estimated $1.95 million in new equipment for a 7,800-square-foot building at the Kingsbury Industrial Park.
An economic revitalization area was also granted by the council on the slightly more than four-acre site to make Indiana Flex Fuels eligible for the tax breaks on its development.
According to company officials, up to 27 new jobs paying an average yearly salary of $50,000 will be created.
No tax abatement will be sought on the actual building construction, Dennis Zeedyk, president of Indiana Flex Fuels LLC, said.
He said bio-diesel will be made from used cooking oils furnished by a trader that has supply contracts with restaurants like McDonald's, Applebee's and Chili's. The other primary ingredients are fats off chickens, pigs and cattle from slaughterhouses to rendering plants.
Zeedyk said the mixture also consists of 9 percent methanol and, with a chemical reaction, the finished product will be turned over to a distributor. Ultimately, it will be blended with diesel fuel at other locations for use primarily by heavy trucks.
"They say that if you follow a diesel engine running on bio-diesel, it smells like French fries," he said.
Even with the abatement, the project will still produce about a quarter million dollars in property taxes for the county over the next decade, said Matt Reardon, economic development coordinator for La Porte County. Currently, the vacant land generates less than $900 in property taxes annually.
"That is the snapshot of the company as it is today,' Reardon said.
Zeedyk said production could begin shortly after construction is finished in mid-February. He said the operation will be environmentally friendly with safeguards against ground run-offs and odors.
And, if market forecasts hold true, Zeedyk said, the company plans three more expansions at the site.
"That's what we're after," LaPorte County Council President Jerry Cooley said.
This is the first operation for Indiana Flex Fuels, which chose the area because of the proximity to rails for transporting the product and its central location for animal fats. That will help keep operating costs down, Zeedyk said.
Indiana is in the top five nationwide in swine and poultry production.
"LaPorte was a good location for us," Zeedyk said.
Plant Tax Abatement OK'd By County
New construction of bio-diesel plant set to begin at Kingsbury Industrial Park.
Stan Maddux
For The News-Dispatch
LA PORTE - Five million gallons of bio-diesel a year could soon be produced at a plant in Kingsbury that has started going up.
On Monday night, the La Porte County Council unanimously approved a 10-year tax abatement on an estimated $1.95 million in new equipment for a 7,800-square-foot building at the Kingsbury Industrial Park.
An economic revitalization area was also granted by the council on the slightly more than four-acre site to make Indiana Flex Fuels eligible for the tax breaks on its development.
According to company officials, up to 27 new jobs paying an average yearly salary of $50,000 will be created.
No tax abatement will be sought on the actual building construction, Dennis Zeedyk, president of Indiana Flex Fuels LLC, said.
He said bio-diesel will be made from used cooking oils furnished by a trader that has supply contracts with restaurants like McDonald's, Applebee's and Chili's. The other primary ingredients are fats off chickens, pigs and cattle from slaughterhouses to rendering plants.
Zeedyk said the mixture also consists of 9 percent methanol and, with a chemical reaction, the finished product will be turned over to a distributor. Ultimately, it will be blended with diesel fuel at other locations for use primarily by heavy trucks.
"They say that if you follow a diesel engine running on bio-diesel, it smells like French fries," he said.
Even with the abatement, the project will still produce about a quarter million dollars in property taxes for the county over the next decade, said Matt Reardon, economic development coordinator for La Porte County. Currently, the vacant land generates less than $900 in property taxes annually.
"That is the snapshot of the company as it is today,' Reardon said.
Zeedyk said production could begin shortly after construction is finished in mid-February. He said the operation will be environmentally friendly with safeguards against ground run-offs and odors.
And, if market forecasts hold true, Zeedyk said, the company plans three more expansions at the site.
"That's what we're after," LaPorte County Council President Jerry Cooley said.
This is the first operation for Indiana Flex Fuels, which chose the area because of the proximity to rails for transporting the product and its central location for animal fats. That will help keep operating costs down, Zeedyk said.
Indiana is in the top five nationwide in swine and poultry production.
"LaPorte was a good location for us," Zeedyk said.