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by Shaun TilghmanCentral Indiana

Ethanol (CIE), locatedin Marion, first beganproducing ethanol onJuly 17, 2007; and onOct. 27, 2009, the com-pany announced ithad reached the 100-million-gallon mark.

The CIE missionstatement, as listed onthe company website,is “to add value to ourlocal economy by pro-ducing renewable fueland other productsthat are economicallyand environmentallyfriendly in order toreduce the UnitedStates dependency onforeign oil.”

According to JeffHarts, Vice Presidentof Grain Operationsfor CIE, “We feel thatethanol is really goodfor the environmentand a great substitutefor foreign oil, and wewould hope the com-munity feels the sameway as we do. Thebenefits to the localeconomy can be seennot only in the jobswe’ve produced butalso in the amount ofbusinesses we haverelationships with.Because CIE is herewe’re paying more forcorn than an elevatorwould have, so thefarmers are more

profitable, and havemore money to putback into the commu-nity.

“We feel we’vemade a capital invest-ment in this area andthat’s why we’ve beenfocused on buildingrelationships withlocal farmers –instead of having totake the corn to theelevator and the ele-vator exporting it tothe market, the mar-ket came to the farm-ers. The farming com-munity is very com-munity oriented andwe want to build trustand form a relation-ship as the processorthat brought the mar-ket to them.”

Local farmers orelevators bring wholekernel corn to CIE,which then uses thecorn to produce 200proof alcohol,Distillers DriedGrains with Solubles(DDGS), carbon diox-ide, corn oil, and cornsyrup. CIE also pro-duces E85, which is afuel blend of 85 per-cent ethanol and 15percent gasoline.There is zero wasteduring the processbecause even the car-bon dioxide is used asa co-product afterbeing transferred to

Central Indiana Ethanol celebrates producing over 100 million gallons

the nearby EPCOplant.

Plant Manager JeffKnutson says onething that makes CIEdifferent is that thefarmer or the cus-tomer never has toleave the truckbecause employeesfrom CIE are available

to complete all steps ofthe process in a timelyfashion.

“We also have E85trucking that deliversDDGS or picks upcorn,” Knutson added.“Ethanol is a big rea-son that we’re here butwe need corn rightnow, we’re a corn

Area ethanol plant finds successin being community oriented

ethanol plant. Thefarmers give us some-thing out of theirfields and we givethem something back– either as a blend ofethanol (E85) orDDGS – that’s why wefeel we’re different.”

The DDGS are usedby farmers to mix inas part of the rationsfor their livestock.Some farmers grindtheir own corn to usefor feeding but whenfarmers elect to taketheir corn to CIE, thecorn can be used to agreater extent.

“We don’t want ourDDGS to start in theU.S. and end up get-ting shipped off tosomewhere likeChina,” Knutsonexplained. “We wantour DDGS to staywithin a radius ofapproximately 100miles. I can’t say thatworks out on a dailybasis but that is a goalwe have here at CIE.”

Harts said, “We’vemade a concertedeffort to grow rela-tionships on the DDGside so we’re shippinga lot of our DDGS to

local livestock opera-tions and local feedmills. One of themyths regardingDDGS years ago wasthat they could onlybe fed to cattle, butresearch has beendone to show DDGSare a great substitutein rations for all ani-mals. Based on howwe produce ourDDGS, we strive tooffer a DDG that flowsreal well and workswell in livestock oper-ations feeding sys-tems.

(continued on page 2)

BART FOX, Value Added Ethanol Marketer, watches as the Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles(DDGS) continues to be piled in a warehouse awaiting the next step in the process. DDGS results fromthe whole kernel corn, which is brought in by local farmers or elevators, being ground into flour andthen having much of the starch removed. (photo by Shaun Tilghman)

CENTRAL INDIANA ETHANOL recently announced that it had produced 100 million gallons of ethanol. The plant,located at 2955 W. Delphi Pike, Marion, began producing ethanol on July 17, 2007. Pictured in front of the plant are (fromleft): Jeff Harts, Vice President of Grain Operations; Bart Fox, Value Added Ethanol Marketer; and Jeff Knutson, PlantManager. (photo by Shaun Tilghman)

VeteransDay

November 11

Bart Fox, ValueAdded EthanolMarketer, has only

been with CIE for a fewmonths, since leaving ajob in the auto industry

in Wabash, but he con-tinues to see the bene-fits of the productsfrom the ethanol plant.

“One thing I’veheard from farmerssince I started workinghere is that we’re pret-ty well known for thequality of our DDGS,”Fox said. “There’s alsoa good chance that iffarmers bring theircorn here it can end upburning through theirvehicles. We want to leteveryone from individ-ual farmers to busi-

nesses know that theycan have one of theseE85 tanks setting ontheir property.

“Besides the environ-mental issues of E85 (itburns cleaner), we wantto keep stressing thelocal issue. With today’seconomy we all knowhow important it is tokeep our money in thecountry; this is one ofthe best remaining waysto ‘Buy American.’ Anincrease in the use ofE85 would result in adecrease in the depend-

ence on foreign oil –keeping with the ideathat it’s grown here, pro-duced here, used here.”

Harts also stressesthe benefits of farmersestablishing a relation-ship with CIE becauseof the relationship CIEhas with the local com-munity.

“I think one thingpeople see about CIE,and ethanol plants ingeneral, is that we aregood community part-ners,” he added. “We’repart of the local com-

munity not only as thecompany but asemployees that livehere.

“We think CIE is agreat place to work; wehave a great teamatmosphere and ourownership and boardof directors are verycommunity oriented.We’ve donated to andbeen part of quite a feworganizations, includ-ing: Oak Hill HighSchool, Madison GrantHigh School, localsports teams (youth

league baseball andPAL soccer), MarionHigh School Band,Swayzee Farm Days,etc. There’s just a realstrong push for CIE tobe involved in our com-munity and supportour communitybecause we like to giveback.”

For more informa-tion about CentralIndiana Ethanol or itsproducts, go to the web-site at www.cie.us orcall 888-384-CORN.

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Central Indiana Ethanol celebrates...continued from front page