USA: The planned $350 million industrial park will include an expanded Cargill malt plant

Gov. John Hoeven, along with industry executives and city and county officials, announced on May 8 plans for the Spiritwood Industrial Park, a new $350 million industrial complex in Jamestown.

The park will include a 100 million gallon ethanol plant; an expanded Cargill malt processing plant; and a 40 megawatt coal-fired steam generating plant using the latest technology to power the entire enterprise. The combined facilities will provide 200-300 jobs during the construction phase and 100 full-time jobs when operational.

The planned industrial park will include Cargill Malt. Cargill Malt will complete a 30 percent expansion of its facility at the site, increasing its annual purchase of barley from 20 to 28 million bushels. This would greatly strengthen the facility’s long-term viability in North Dakota. Cargill Malt is a business unit of Cargill, an international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services. With 140,000 employees in 61 countries, Cargill is committed to using its knowledge and experience to collaborate with customers to help them succeed. The company’s Spiritwood facility, originally Ladish Malt Company, opened in 1974 and was purchased by Cargill in 1991.

“We could not be more pleased with our partners and the effect this investment will have on each of our businesses, our stakeholders and the state and local community. This project will enhance our competitive position in the North American malting industry, provide supply assurance to our key customers and provide a more secure barley marketing option for North Dakota producers,” says Cargill Corporate Vice President John Geisler.

“The Spiritwood Industrial Park, a $350 million project, embodies our ongoing efforts to develop North Dakota’s energy resources in tandem with other industries,” Hoeven said. “Ethanol, lignite, value-added ag processing, farming and ranching – all of these industries are working together to create jobs and spur economic activity in other fields as well, like trucking, retail and services. The venture will benefit not only Jamestown, but the whole region.”

The Governor’s office helped forge the alliance, which includes the Newman Group, Great River Energy (GRE) and Cargill. The effort produced a unique agreement that brings together a long-time North Dakota entrepreneur, one of the largest agriculture companies in the world and a leading utility company. The plans call for GRE’s Spiritwood Energy, the power plant, to provide electricity to the grid and steam for both the planned ethanol facility and Cargill Malt’s expanded facility. In addition, the ethanol facility would use waste water from the barley malting plant and produce cattle feed as a byproduct of the ethanol manufacturing process. The plants will together use new technology in an environmentally sound, energy efficient way.

The state is providing financing support, including assistance from the Bank of North Dakota and an Agricultural Commodity Processing Facility Investment Tax Credit. The North Dakota Department of Transportation is assisting with road upgrades and access.

On a local level, the Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corporation has stepped up to offer assistance in the form of equity investment and incentive grant funding to the ethanol plant in partnership with the Newman Group. Connie Ova, CEO, JSDC, said, “It’s very exciting to be a part of this venture. The community has taken the opportunity to invest in a locally grown product, with a Jamestown entrepreneur and enhance the local economy to a degree only dreamed about prior to this announcement!”

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