Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity celebrated the opening of Incobrasa Industries’ new soybean processing plant and solar array in Gilman on Monday. The $250 million expansion reinforces Illinois’ position as the nation’s leading soybean-producing state.
The completed project includes a 170,000-square-foot facility that doubles the company’s production capacity. The plant can process nearly 100 million bushels of soybeans annually, converting them into soybean meal for animal feed and soybean oil that can be refined into biodiesel and other renewable fuel products.
Production capacity
The new crush plant represents the single largest extraction process in the country, requiring 300,000 bushels per day. The facility will provide a stable market for 7,000 local family farms.
“Incobrasa’s new crush plant is the single largest extraction process in the country,” said Kerry Fogarty, quality control manager at Incobrasa. “By producing oil for biodiesel production and soy protein for animal feed, the process will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower the cost of food.”
Job creation and energy
The expansion creates 40 new full-time jobs for the region while retaining 200 positions. The company also constructed a 50-acre solar array with the capacity to generate five megawatts of energy, which can provide power directly to the plant or feed the grid.
Illinois is the nation’s largest soybean producer and the fourth-largest biodiesel producer. Global demand for renewable fuels is projected to increase by 28 percent between 2021 and 2026.
The project received support from the state’s Economic Development for a Growing Economy program. Companies participating in the EDGE program have committed to creating more than 5,000 new jobs and nearly $2.5 billion in investments so far in 2026.
