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Article: ETHANOL BELT BOOMS AS OIL PRICES CLIMB; Sales, profits surging for Illinois producers.(News)
- Article from:
- Crain's Chicago Business
- Article date:
- October 10, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Crain Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: BOB TITA
This past summer has been very busy-and profitable-for Todd Block and the ethanol plant he manages in Lena, about 100 miles due west of Waukegan.
"The margins at ethanol plants are very high right now,'' says Mr. Block, manager of the Adkins Energy LLC plant, which is producing at its capacity of 42 million gallons annually. "As the price of petroleum went up, it's made ethanol more attractive.''
The surging price of oil this year has for the first time made ethanol cheaper to produce than gasoline, creating high demand and fatter profits for Decatur-based farm commodities processor Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM), ...