CLAYPOOL - It looked like a carnival as thousands of visitors converged on Claypool Tuesday for the grand-opening ceremony of the new Louis Dreyfus facility on Ind. 15.
With several tents, many vendors' booths and children's inflatable play equipment, as well as large speakers playing a variety of music, the Louis Dreyfus construction site looked more like a big party than a soybean-based biodiesel plant.
While Tuesday was all about celebration, the future is about production at the world's largest integrated soybean biodiesel production facility.
Against the backdrop of the main area of the production facility, a stage was set up with a large video screen that displayed a video and speakers at the event so people in the back of the area could see.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman, Congressman Mark Souder, Claypool Town Council President Don Miller and Louis Dreyfus Chief Executive Officer Serge Schoen welcomed a large crowd to the event and stressed the importance of agriculture in the economy.
"The agriculture industry is the heart of the state," said Skillman, who also is the secretary of agriculture in Indiana. "Agriculture is not just part of our history, it's our future."
"My heart is full today knowing what we have accomplished here," Daniels said. "... We are 100 percent committed to a stronger agricultural sector. ... This is the right thing for this state. There is money to be made and jobs to be created ... ."
Within the past several years, Indiana has become the home to nearly 20 biofuel plants, including ethanol and biodiesel. Those companies have made Indiana a top-five producer of biofuels in the nation.
"(These plants have) put Indiana at the forefront of biofuels where it should have been all along," said Daniels, who told the crowd that Indiana is the No. 4 producer of soybeans and the No. 5 producer of corn in the country.
Daniels added that biofuel plants bring opportunities to small towns in Indiana.
"Now there is hope and promise where there has been too little of it," Daniels said. "This plant is good for each citizen of Indiana. ... This place called Indiana is a great place to build a future."
The Louis Dreyfus soybean-based biodiesel plant is the largest of its kind in the world. When in operation, which is slated for October, the plant can crush 50 million bushels of soybeans and produce more than 88 million gallons of biodiesel and more than 1 million tons of soybean meal for livestock feed.
When in full production, the plant will process about $450 million worth of soybeans that will be grown locally and in the surrounding regions.
Schoen spoke about the history of the Louis Dreyfus company, which was founded 150 years ago in France by Leopold Louis Dreyfus. Leopold Louis Dreyfus started the company by buying and selling grains in Europe and later expanded to other parts of the world. Today, Louis Dreyfus trades in 58 countries in the world.
"(Leopold Louis Dreyfus) was very much ahead of his time," Schoen said. "... He was a damn hard worker like all of us."
Schoen explained that the Louis Dreyfus company wants to see all links of the supply chain be successful, from the farmer to the processing plant to the traders to the exporters and more.
"We could not have done this alone," Shoen said. "We could not have done it without everyone here. The people of Indiana have been fantastic to work with. ... (With this facility), this 150-year-old company has become new again."
"In Indiana, we like family businesses. We like hard workers. We like visionaries. And we like you," Daniels said. "Welcome to Claypool."
After the speeches, Daniels along with several other officials, officially cut the ribbon for the facility. Following a VIP tour, members of the general public were allowed to tour the plant.
A buffet-style lunch was prepared by the Kosciusko County Pork Producers, Kosciusko County Cattlemen's Association and Our Father's House. The menu included pork chop and ribeye sandwiches, chicken, baked beans, potato salad, pasta salad and homemade pie. Three large tents set up with tables and chairs were filled with visitors eating lunch.
