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A short-lived Kansas ethanol plan that a few years ago was expected to become the biggest in the state has been purchased by a national agricultural marketing firm based in Omaha, Neb.
The Scoular Company said it hopes to have the 55-million-gallon plant in Pratt operating by the third or fourth quarter this year after extensive renovation of the former Gateway Ethanol plant.
The plant opened in August 2007 and began some ethanol production in October of that year. But it never operated commercially and was shut down in December 2007 after an ice storm froze and heavily damaged its equipment.
The $100 million plant filed a $1.1 million freeze damage claim in January 2008 but was shut down again in late February, blaming the price of corn. A Minneapolis-based investment bank that held more than $63 million in loans on the plant filed for foreclosure in April 2008, but the plant didn't go up for sale until last summer because of a protracted legal battle.
The Hutchinson News reports that Scoular officials anticipate eventually employing up to 40 people there.
Scoular, which specializes in grain marketing, is "in discussions with companies interested in operating the plant in partnership with Scoular," the company said in a news release.
A short-lived Kansas ethanol plan that a few years ago was expected to become the biggest in the state has been purchased by a national agricultural marketing firm based in Omaha, Neb.
The Scoular Company said it hopes to have the 55-million-gallon plant in Pratt operating by the third or fourth quarter this year after extensive renovation of the former Gateway Ethanol plant.
The plant opened in August 2007 and began some ethanol production in October of that year. But it never operated commercially and was shut down in December 2007 after an ice storm froze and heavily damaged its equipment.
The $100 million plant filed a $1.1 million freeze damage claim in January 2008 but was shut down again in late February, blaming the price of corn. A Minneapolis-based investment bank that held more than $63 million in loans on the plant filed for foreclosure in April 2008, but the plant didn't go up for sale until last summer because of a protracted legal battle.
The Hutchinson News reports that Scoular officials anticipate eventually employing up to 40 people there.
Scoular, which specializes in grain marketing, is "in discussions with companies interested in operating the plant in partnership with Scoular," the company said in a news release.
