Plymouth Oil, a new bio-fuels venture in Merrill, Iowa, was awarded $7.5 million in USDA Rural Development Guaranteed Loan Funds through American Bank in LeMars, Iowa. Senator Chuck Grassley, Congressman Steve King, and mark Reisinger, USDA Rural Development State Director were among the notable dignitaries present to present the award to the new Iowa bio-fuels based business.
"We're putting more of the future into our hands rather than other peoples' hands," said Senator Chuck Grassley. Plymouth Oil will create jobs and help make ethanol production more profitable, allowing for less dependence on foreign oil and a stronger national economy. More and more parts of a kernel of corn are being put to use as technology improves and research grows, Grassley said. "We're not done yet," he added. "But this is a victory for this economy."
Plymouth Oil will purchase raw corn germ, corn bran and other fee-related products from Plymouth Energy, a nearby ethanol plant. The company will then further refine the raw materials into de-oiled germ meal, bran and crude corn oil into food-grade cooking oil. Plymouth Oil is expected to create 30 new jobs and begin operations January 15, 2009. The plant will have the capability of pumping out 80 tons of corn oil each day.
Plymouth Oil will allow ethanol plants to produce fuel, then take other parts of the corn kernels to make food-grade oil and about 240 tons of defatted germ meal daily, which can be used for hog, poultry and dairy feed. For Plymouth Oil, the intention is to eventually use corn germ from the Plymouth Energy ethanol plant located at the same site to make the food-grade oil.
However, while that plant will begin producing ethanol within a few weeks, it does not yet have the capability to separate the corn germ used in oil production from the rest of the corn matter. To get rolling, Plymouth Oil will bring in corn germ from other plants including some in Iowa, Wisconsin, and one in Missouri that uses the rest of the corn to make snacks like corn puffs and grits for corn flakes. At capacity, Plymouth Oil will take in 400 tons of corn germ per day.
Plymouth Oil has already been pledged $1.2 million in state tax incentives. That package includes an investment tax credit of $877,450, a $48,750 research and development tax credit and a $333,840 refund of sales, service and use tax paid during construction of the plant. The company is eligible for those benefits because 18 of the jobs meet the state's qualification as "High Quality Jobs," having wages that are 130 percent of the county average. Plymouth County's average wage is $16.45 an hour in April 2008.