By James Ronald Skains
Journal Correspondent

Pollock, Louisiana

Vanguard SynFuels, LLC on August 1 announced completion of the purchase of the Farmland Ammonia Nitrogen plants in Pollock, Louisiana. Vanguard SynFuels, LLC intends to convert the ammonia nitrogen plant into a wood refining operation to extract the carbon from wood and convert the carbon into vehicle fuel.

"It's all about carbon," Bill Wieger, Vice President and one of the three original founders of Vanguard told the Piney Woods Journal. "The technology for which we have a license, extracts the carbon from the wood through a gasification system and reconfigures the carbon through a thermo-chemical process into either diesel or ethanol."

"The Pollock plant will be the first large-scale commercial operation in the United States producing diesel and ethanol from wood," Wieger pointed out. "Once in production, we will be able to consistently produce upwards of 350,000 gallons of fuel each day. We anticipate producing 75% ethanol and 25% diesel."

"We will be able to use wood of all shapes and sizes that now has little commercial value," Wieger, a retired forester who has spent the last twenty years in north and central Louisiana explained. "We can use both hardwood and pine. It will take upwards of a 100 loads a day of wood fiber to feed the mill."

According to property transfer records, Vanguard SynFuels, LLC purchased the 320 acres of property and the 1,500-tons-a-day ammonia nitrogen facility for $2.2 million. Vanguard had been awarded the winning bid on April 15, 2003 to purchase the manufacturing facility by a Missouri bankruptcy court after Farmland Industries, Inc. filed for bankruptcy on May 31, 2002. The Farmland plant last produced ammonia nitrogen in October of 2001.

Johnny McDaniel, former Pollock plant manger for Farmland and now the plant manger for Vanguard SynFuels, LLC told the Journal, "Farmland, which was just a couple of years ago the largest producer of ammonia nitrogen in the United States got caught up in a tragic situation. Natural gas, which was our feedstock to make ammonia nitrogen, went through the roof."

"At the same time that natural gas prices went through the roof, the fertilizer market went south due to imports and the overall down turn in farming," McDaniel said. He had been employed 18 years with Farmland, the last six years as Pollock plant manager. "In 2000, Farmland was valued at $11 billion, two years later it filed for bankruptcy."

"Farmland was one of the biggest taxpayers in Grant Parish and had one of the highest payrolls in the parish," said McDaniel, an Oakdale native and Louisiana Tech engineering graduate. "Central Louisiana is fortunate that the Vanguard group found the technology to make fuel out of wood and that the technology could be adapted to the Pollock facility."

Travis Taylor, longtime Piney Woods logger and one of the three original founders of the project told the Journal, "The logging industry has been referred to as a the `invisible industry' because in years past we have kept such a low profile."

"However, I'm proud to say that nearly 70% of the $2.2 million that we raised came from within the logging industry in Louisiana," Taylor, who also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vanguard SynFuels, LLC pointed out. "We have been told by the economic experts for several years that we needed to add value to value to our wood products. I think that we are certainly going to do that with our fuels plant."

A load of chips or wood coming out of the woods weighs about 27 tons. That same load of wood will produce 2,000 gallons of diesel or about 2,500 gallons of ethanol," Taylor said. The Goldonna logger was recently awarded the "Entrepreneur of the Year" by the central Louisiana Kisatchie Economic Development Council. "When that same load of wood leaves the plant at Pollock as liquid fuel, it's worth about $2,500."

Louisiana 5th District Congressman Rodney Alexander who has been working with the Vanguard group since he took office in January, 2003 told the Journal, "I'm really pleased that they were able to close the purchase of the plant from Farmland. It is a major economic happening for the people in the area and for that matter the whole 5th District."

"Making fuel from wood is a major break-through in technology," Congressman Alexander stated. "This project could have national implication in that in a small way it will help reduce our dependence on foreign oil. My office stands ready to help the Vanguard group anyway in can in getting this facility into production."

The Piney Woods State delegation of elected officials led by State Senator Mike Smith, and State Representatives Taylor Townsend and Jim Fannin pushed through a House/Senate Joint Resolution in the recent Louisiana Legislative session strongly supporting Vanguard's purchase of the Farmland plant and its conversion to produce diesel and ethanol.

When the technological conversion is completed at the Pollock facility and the facility goes on production stream, upwards of $75 million will have been spent and 80 or more people will be employed permanently. The Vanguard time-line is to be producing ethanol and non-sulfur diesel by the first quarter of 2005.

"Being able to produce non-sulfur diesel is a major plus for our operation," Steve Templin, Central Louisiana consulting forester explained to the Journal. "The Federal government has mandated that the sulfur content in diesel that is now being produced be drastically reduced in the next couple of years. We think that a real niche exists in the market place for our non-sulfur diesel fuel."

Templin serves on the Vanguard Board of Directors and as Treasurer of the LLC. Two other Piney Woods loggers serving on the Vanguard Board of Directors with Travis Taylor are Dean Tyler and Jimmy Carter. Tyler is based in Pineville and also operates an equipment rental business in addition to his logging and timber business.

Carter, a native of Winnfield, operates his logging business out of Converse near Toledo Bend Lake.

Travis Taylor, in his recent remarks accepting the 2003 Entrepreneur of the Year award said of the Pollock project, "The logging, sawmill, and plywood industry in Louisiana has been devastated by imported products. We knew that our backs were to wall and that us loggers would soon be on the endangered species list if we didn't do something. However, Louisiana loggers are a tough bunch of people and can come up with innovative ideas when necessary. So guess what us Louisiana loggers are going to do to survive? We are going to make diesel fuel and ethanol out of wood! If that isn't innovative action, what is?"

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