MINNEAPOLIS — Cargill has unveiled plans to build a $90 million biodiesel plant in Wichita, Kas. Construction on the 42,000-square-foot facility will begin in December, with plans to open the plant in January 2019.
Cargill said the facility will produce 60 million gallons of biodiesel annually and employ 35 full-time employees. The plant will be built next to Cargill’s oilseed processing plant and will replace an existing oil refinery managed by Cargill’s Global Edible Oil business, the company said. The edible oils production will be transferred to other Cargill facilities.
“This new facility will enable Wichita to be a competitive supplier in the biofuels market, bringing value to the suppliers and customers we work with, and connecting farmers with industrial customers by supplying quality biomass-based diesel,” said Pat Woerner, biodiesel commercial leader for Cargill’s Agricultural Supply Chain business. “Biofuels are good for the U.S. farm economy and can bring capital investment to agriculture while boosting economic development in farm communities.”
Cargill said the new facility in Wichita will build on its presence in the Midwest, where the company already has biodiesel plants in Iowa Falls, Iowa, and Kansas City.
Cargill offers biofuels from a variety of renewable resources, including corn, soybeans, sugar cane, palm oil and biogas. The company produces ethanol and biodiesel in the United States and the European Union, ethanol in Brazil, and biodiesel in Argentina.