Feed&Grain.com |

ALL ROADS LEAD TO JEFFERSON

The second of the three prongs looked at utilizing the existing resources to capture value and improve efficiencies throughout the chain of production. One major asset the project had going for it from the get-go, was its ideal location.

“Getting our raw material in and our Renew Meal ™ product out the door on the back end, in a smooth, timely fashion is paramount to our success,” says Scott Busch, co-product merchandising and marketing manager, Renew Energy. “Logistically speaking, the Jefferson location puts us in a position to meet our expectations and those of our customers.”

A quick glance at a map and the logistical advantages Busch refers to almost leap off the page. Jefferson is sandwiched between Interstate 94 to the north and Interstate 90 a little more than 30 minutes to the south. It’s also dissected by a State Highway 26 which runs north/south, and the east/west running U.S. Highway 18. These well-traveled corridors make it easy for inbound and outbound deliveries from the plant.

The task of receiving product is made easier with the existence of a rail access and rail loadout capabilities at the plant as well.

To produce 130-mgy of ethanol takes a lot of corn. In fact, Renew has 10 million bushels of on-site storage thanks to 300 concrete storage structures left from the malting operation. Sourcing the corn isn’t seen as a problem either as Jefferson is located almost smack-dab in the middle of the top eight corn-producing counties in Wisconsin.

“We have the luxury of repurposing the storage facilities, the 60,000 bushels-per-hour hopper-bottom rail loadout and two, 30,000 bushel-per-hour truck bays, along with the conveying and material handling equipment,” Busch notes. “We captured a huge amount of value from the existing plant and saved nearly 20% right off the top, compared to building it all from scratch.”