UPDATED: January 23 7 a.m.
An abandoned biodiesel plant in Keokuk will reopen in a few weeks under new ownership.
According to the Daily Gate City, officials with the W2 Fuel plant say the facility will up and running by mid-February.
The East Coast-based company is in the process of hiring more than 20 workers.
It's set to produce about 7 million gallons of biodiesel a year.
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Original Story: October 28, 2011
A plant will reopen in Keokuk, Iowa, bringing with it a boost in local economy and jobs.
The plant is one of the largest of its kind in the United States and will process 5 million gallons of biodiesel and glycerin annually.
Keokuk Mayor Tom Marion says "We have the highest unemployment rate in Iowa. And we have skilled workers here that can be employed. I know we are going to start slow but they will work up and it will be a big boom to Keokuk."
The introduction of the plant will bring 24 new jobs to Keokuk and will operate 24 hours a day.
Plant Startup Manager Jim Rock states why the company chose Keokuk for the new plant location. "One of the reasons we liked Keokuk is that the vision the people had here when they originally built it was, actually for five years ago, really state of the art or perhaps even a little bit ahead of state of the art. We are looking to do a pharmaceutical grade glycerin here. Which actually has another profit center. So that is why they had a complete vision."
This W2 Fuel plant will retrofit to adhere to the American Society of Testing of Materials standards.
It plans on opening in December of this year.
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