Aventine Announces Reopening of Aurora East Plant
Also promotes new financial officer
Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc., a leading producer and marketer of ethanol and related products, announced that it has taken two additional steps on its path toward a stronger financial future: the company expects to restart production at one of its idled ethanol facilities, Aurora East, located in Nebraska, and it has promoted its CFO.
The company has completed improvements to the fermentation process at its Aurora East plant in Nebraska. It expects to resume production the week of July 25, 2011. The plant’s production has been idled since late April.
The company has also promoted John Castle to executive vice president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer. Castle, responsible for the finance function of the business, will also assume responsibility for business operations.
Prior to his position at Aventine, Castle served in a number of financial leadership positions, including in the ethanol industry as the senior vice president of operations, CFO and secretary of White Energy.
Castle brings to his new duties his experiences at several companies, including as director of accounting for Dresser, Inc., global manufacturer of highly engineered energy infrastructure and oilfield products, his work as CFO at Rohn Industries, as well as the vice president-treasurer and corporate controller of Telxon Corporation.
Castle is a Certified Public Accountant with a master's degree in business administration from Xavier University and a bachelor of science in accounting from Eastern Illinois University.
“Castle’s CFO expertise at Aventine has proven his ability to manage many moving parts through the company’s transition. He has managed complicated financial details in extremely difficult circumstances and John now will apply his leadership skills to the manufacturing side of our business with the goal being to maximize production at all plants,” said Aventine’s CEO, Thomas Manuel.
“Our operational focus is to implement identified changes to bring the Mount Vernon plant closer to full capacity. Resolving new plant production issues will help us move forward with the start-up of the Aurora West facility, an identical twin of the Mount Vernon facility. We are also working through the mechanical systems of the Canton, IL facility in preparation of starting that plant later in the year,” said Castle.
