The ADM dry corn milling ethanol plant in southwest Cedar Rapids. CREDIT KCRG-TV9
By CBJ News Staff
news@corridorbusiness.com
ADM has announced it will idle ethanol production at its corn dry mill facilities in both Cedar Rapids and Columbus, Nebraska, furloughing about 90 employees at each plant for at least four months.
The company said Thursday that due to low consumer demand for gasoline amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it would be focusing on cash flow and diverting corn grind to other products, including hand sanitizer and industrial starches for the container board market.
“These are very difficult decisions in a very challenging time, and unfortunately, the current market conditions and the low consumer demand for gasoline at this time have greatly impacted the entire ethanol industry,” said Chris Cuddy, president of ADM’s Carbohydrate Solutions unit, in a release. “Our primary focus is the respect and care of our employees during this time, and we are doing everything we can to support them until market conditions improve and we can look at ways to restart production.”
ADM said it had notified employees in both Cedar Rapids and Nebraska of the temporary furlough yesterday. Employees will continue to receive medical benefits for the duration of the furlough and will be eligible to apply for state and federal unemployment benefits.
The Cedar Rapids plant has a wet mill capacity of 400 million gallons a year and a dry mill capacity of 300 million gallons a year, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, making it the largest plant of its kind in the state. CBJ
