August 20, 2007

New company to build at Cargill Eddyville Site

EDDYVILLE, Iowa –Minority owned chemical distributor Midwest Chlor-Alkali, LLC today announced plans to build a manufacturing plant adjacent to Cargill’s corn milling facility in Eddyville, Iowa, contingent on completion of lease negotiations. A newly formed affiliate of Indianapolis-based Harris & Ford, Midwest will make sodium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid and bleach on 10 - 12 acres at the Cargill Eddyville complex, also known as the Iowa Bioprocessing Center.

The plant will be capable of producing about 100,000 dry short tons of sodium hydroxide and 250,000 short tons of hydrochloric acid per year. It will serve Cargill’s eight North American corn-milling plants as well as other customers. Ground will be broken later this month, with first product expected to roll off the lines in early 2009.

Established in 1994, Harris & Ford is a major distributor of chemicals with sales of more than $100 million per year. Its president, Tim Harris, who will also serve as president of Midwest, has spent 20 years in the chemical industry including stints as R & D and plant engineer at Diamond Shamrock Chemical (now Occidental) and sales and marketing manager for Ulrich Chemical.

“With this project, our company moves beyond distribution into manufacturing,” Harris said. “It’s a major expansion in scope for us, and we couldn’t ask for a more respected partner than Cargill to help us take this step. As we grow, our central focus remains on providing our customers the highest standard of service in our industry.”

As with other companies co-located at the Iowa Bioprocessing Center, Midwest will receive its water supply and wastewater treatment from Cargill. Cargill will also invest in pipelines to connect the two companies.

“We’re delighted at this opportunity to deepen a relationship with one of our valued suppliers,” said Cargill Corn Milling President Pat Bowe. “This project will increase Cargill Corn Milling’s spending with diverse suppliers by almost 40 percent. More importantly, Harris & Ford’s reputation for vision, integrity and proficiency can only add value to our operations as the relationship grows.”

Timothy Thomas, Cargill’s director of supplier diversity, praised the “outside the box” thinking that went into the establishment of Midwest and the long-term supplier agreement with Cargill. “This is a great example of how Cargill can help create business development opportunities for diverse suppliers in parts of the supply chain where few such suppliers operate,” he said. “It creates strategic benefits for both the suppliers and for Cargill.”