Indiana will soon have a soy biodiesel production facility in rural east central Indiana. Integrity Biofuels, a member of the National Biodiesel Board, selected the Shelby County town of Morristown because it is located near Bunge North America's Morristown facility, one of eight soybean processing plants in the state.

"As we looked at potential production facility sites throughout the Midwest, we found a match in Morristown," said Integrity Biofuels CEO Charles Whittington. "In this site, we had access to an adequate supply of high-quality refined soybean oil, which is the key ingredient to soy biodiesel production. We also found in Morristown a chamber of commerce and a town board that welcomed our renewable fuel company with community support, an infrastructure critical for long-term business success, and valued tax incentives."

Integrity Biofuels has purchased an existing building and expects to be in the business of selling the domestic fuel by early 2006, said Whittington, a Hoosier native. This biodiesel production facility will employ five to seven workers and produce 10 million gallons of biodiesel annually though company officials are already making plans to grow production. In its first year of production, Integrity Biofuels will utilize 6.7 million bushels of Hoosier soybeans.

Within the state borders, Hoosiers purchased nearly 400,000 gallons of biodiesel last year. In 2005, the Indiana Soybean Board estimates that Hoosier diesel owners will demand close to 4 million gallons of pure biodiesel. The biodiesel offered to Indiana distillate customers today is primarily produced in Ohio or Iowa.