New Ethanol Facility to Locate in Williston

NEW ETHANOL FACILITY TO LOCATE IN WILLISTON 7/31/03 - Gov. John Hoeven today announced that the Makad Corp. of Vancouver, Washington plans to build the North Dakota Ethanol Complex, LLC, a new 17-million gallon ethanol production facility in the Williston Basin Industrial Park in Williston, North Dakota. Project details are still being finalized. Hoeven and Makad officials will be in Williston by mid-August for the formal rollout of the venture. The expected completion date is early 2005. Hoeven said the plant is expected to use about 6.8 million bushels of corn annually, creating a demand for an additional 51,000 acres of production. The project will generate as many as 400 jobs during peak construction phase, and take 14 months to complete. In addition, the plant will produce feed byproduct for cattle operations in the Mon-Dak region, which has about one million head of cattle. �We�ve put new economic development tools in place, aggressively promoted the use of ethanol and fostered a better climate for production,� Hoeven said. �In addition, we�ve adopted a real team approach - with the Department of Commerce coordinating efforts and resources with the City of Williston and the Williston Area Development Foundation. Now we�re seeing the results of all of these efforts come together in an exciting new project for northwest North Dakota.� Discussions regarding the Williston project began in February 2002 with the North Dakota Department of Commerce Business Development Team. The Makad Corp. conducted a financial analysis and feasibility study to determine if North Dakota should be the location of a future corporate ethanol site, followed by company site visits to Williston and several other North Dakota locations in July of 2002. Makad Corp. develops industrial projects in the fields of petro-chemical, electrical power generation, ethanol and fertilizer. Its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Elie Makad said, �We commend the vision of the Governor, his Department of Commerce staff under Lee Peterson and the Williston City and Development personnel. Without their tireless efforts, this project would not be built in North Dakota. Their team greatly assisted us in putting this pioneering effort together in a very short time. We look forward to a long and successful relationship with North Dakota.� The company, and state and local officials, investigated a variety of issues, including corn production, transportation and utilities. Irrigation acres have increased in the Williston area for the production of sugar beets, potatoes, alfalfa and other high-value crops. The same irrigation infrastructure will help ensure the levels of corn production necessary to supply an ethanol plant of the scale projected. �We�re very pleased with this project, because it fits in so well with our vision of the future,� said Williston Mayor Ward Koeser. �We have made value-added agriculture a priority in our economic development strategy.� Tom Rolfstad, director of Williston Economic Development, said, �Ethanol is the logical marriage between agriculture and the oil and gas industry, and Williston�s economy is based on oil and gas. We have emphasized our base of skilled employees and the availability of oil and gas service and supply companies in the area.� Lee Peterson, commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Commerce, placed great importance on the cooperative effort of all involved in making this project a reality. Peterson said, �It takes teamwork to drive economic development. The announcement of this project once again proves that we are getting the job done by doing things differently. The cooperative effort of all of our economic development partners was instrumental in making this project happen.� Makad Corp. and Monsanto Enviro-Chem Systems, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Monsanto Company of St. Louis, Missouri) have formed an alliance to develop ethanol production facilities. The alliance is currently developing a similar facility in eastern Oregon. The two companies are also developing a urea fertilizer facility in eastern Oregon. Last November, Hoeven rolled out the North Dakota Ethanol Production Incentive program, the first in the nation to create a market-based support system for the growing ethanol industry. The program establishes a counter-cyclical financial incentive for the production of ethanol in a newly constructed ethanol production plant. The Legislature passed the program into law in April. Hoeven is also the chairman of the Governors� Ethanol Coalition, a national organization that fosters policies promoting ethanol use and production. BACK TO HOME PAGE