East Kansas Agri-Energy to Halt Production

By CnAgri2012-08-10 19:51:57 Print

East Kansas Agri-Energy, LLC in Garnett recently announced plans to temporarily suspend production operations beginning Oct. 1.

The company cited the prolonged drought conditions as having a negative impact on availability of corn and rising feedstock prices as the main reasons for the halt of production. Additionally, the demand for gasoline is down resulting in surplus ethanol stocks. These challenges led to the company to reduce plant production capacity by 20 percent on April 1.

Bill Pracht, chairperson of the board said, "We have studied the situation extensively and with the challenging economic conditions the board of directors has determined that it is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders to halt production at this time."

"We will monitor the situation with the hope to resume production of the facility as soon as market conditions allow," Pracht added.

The company employs 35 people and a portion of the staff will be impacted by this decision. Pracht also added, "Every effort will be made to treat our employees as best we can, many of our employees have been with the company since the plant opened. Knowing the impact that this decision has on our communities and families made the decision even more difficult."

East Kansas Agri-Energy formed in 2001 to construct and operate an ethanol plant and began producing ethanol in 2005 producing 42 million gallons per year annually.