Moberly Area Economic Development Corporation announced Lakeview Energy, LLC plans to expand its international biofuels operations to Moberly. The company has purchased the assets of the former Producer’s Choice Soy Energy facility and approximately 6.7 acres located at 607 West Fowler Road. The company will invest nearly $5 million to upgrade the facility and the project will create 19 new FTE jobs at the facility with hiring to begin immediately.
MAEDC President Corey Mehaffy indicates his office has been working with the company for several months reviewing programs available to assist the company and discussing the workforce assets in the area. Mehaffy added, “We are excited to welcome Lakeview to Moberly and we look forward to supporting their efforts to bring this new project online as well as grow their business in the years to come.”
Lakeview Biodiesel, LLC, the Moberly entity, is a subsidiary of Lakeview Energy, LLC, a renewable energy company based in Chicago with investments in biofuels, agribusiness and wind energy. The biofuels division holds investments in two biorefineries located in Merrill, Iowa, and Coshocton, Ohio. Both plants combine to produce 500 million liters of biofuel, 300,000 tons of distillers grains and 11 million liters of corn oil.
As part of Lakeview’s continued investment into biofuels, the company continues to partner with numerous technology and biofuels companies in adopting the latest technology to improve the plants’ efficiency and products’ capabilities. The trading division markets biofuel, distillers grains and corn oil both domestically and internationally and holds an International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) accreditation to trade sustainable product across the EU. Lakeview Grains, through its elevator in Lilly Chapel, Ohio, also markets corn, soybeans, and wheat.
Lakeview’s wind energy operations are based in South Dakota with lease options and grid applications in place to develop up to 300MW’s of wind energy across this region. For more information on the company, visit their website at http://www.lakeviewenergyllc.com/.
Lakeview Energy, LLC CEO Jim Galvin mentioned that the Moberly Area offers a significant workforce pool to pull from including many people with work experience in the biofuels sector. Galvin went on to say, “After looking at various locations, we decided to expand in Moberly due in part to the availability of the PCSE facility but also the abundance of quality employees in the area. We are excited about the opportunity to rapidly expand our operations and the necessary work on the Moberly facility has already begun. We have enjoyed working with the City of Moberly and MAEDC and look forward to a long and rewarding relationship in Moberly.”
Mehaffy added, “Our major employers in the area pull from as many as 60 miles with the majority of our workforce coming into the region form a 35-45 mile radius. This labor shed offers our employers a distinct advantage when recruiting new employees.” http://www.moberly-edc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/MAEDC-Labor-Commuting-Certification-2015-06-02.pdf
Mehaffy indicated that Lakeview Biodiesel is already engaged in the hiring process for the Moberly facility. “Applications & resumes are currently being accepted for numerous positions in Moberly. The company is actively working with the Department of Workforce Development to advertise open positions and a career fair event is being considered”, said Mehaffy. To learn more about the available positions, contact the Missouri Job Centers.
MAEDC Vice-President David Gaines said the 3-County MAEDC Region is currently moving towards certification under the Work Ready Communities Program. Gaines added, “We recently completed testing with nearly all of the high school seniors in the three-county region. This program will provide a distinct advantage to our current employers and we are hearing from our site selection consultants that this program provides critical workforce skills information to their clients; and is quickly becoming a requirement for most companies to consider investment in a region. Great things are happening in the MAEDC Region!”
Moberly Mayor Bob Riley added, “We appreciate the company’s willingness to make this investment in the region and we would like to thank USDA, SBTDC, DED and DWD for their assistance with this project. This project is another example of the private and public sectors partnering together to encourage new investment and create new jobs in the region. We welcome the company to Moberly and we are confident Lakeview Biodiesel will be a good corporate citizen.”
On August 7, 2015 a news release from USDA indicated that USDA invested over $63 million to support 264 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects nationwide. Under the USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Lakeview Biodiesel, LLC was awarded a $3.3 million loan guarantee to help acquire a Missouri biodiesel plant and make improvements to bring it online to produce enough biodiesel to run approximately 16,500 vehicles annually. http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdamediafb?contentid=2015/08/0226.xml&printable=true&contentidonly=true
Moberly Area Economic Development Corporation works to promote financial investment in Randolph, Monroe and Howard Counties. For more information on the organization, please visit their website at http://www.moberly-edc.com.
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