As alluded to in Renewable Energy Group’s first quarter earnings report, the mega U.S. biodiesel producer has signed a contract manufacturing agreement with Washington, Iowa-based Iowa Renewable Energy LLC. Under the 12-month contract, which went in to effect in March, REG is purchasing raw materials for the 30 MMgy multifeedstock plant and marketing biodiesel produced at IRE’s facility.

“We are pleased REG has chosen to work with Iowa Renewable Energy,” said Ron Lutovsky, IRE’s chief operations officer and chief financial officer. “Our focus on fuel specifications and our BQ-9000 processes are aligned with REG’s commitment to biodiesel quality.”

Biodiesel from the IRE facility will be used to meet growing national and regional demand according to Gary Haer, REG’s vice president of sales and marketing. “We are working closely with the IRE team to include their gallons with biodiesel from our existing REG plant network to fulfill new and existing contracts.”

“IRE’s processing technology allows REG to expand our diverse raw material procurement strategy as well as our transportation and logistics programs to meet our growing customer demand,” said Dave Elsenbast, REG’s vice president of supply chain management.

REG served as the general contractor and technology provider for the construction of the IRE facility, which began production in July 2007. 

Iowa Renewable Energy LLC is owned by more than 500 individual investors represented by a board of directors. The plant runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week and employs 26 people. It utilizes a patented continuous flow technology.

The facility includes a pretreatment area for oils and fats, the production area where those oils and fats are turned into biodiesel, a tank farm for raw material and finished product storage; a load out and receiving area where trucks and railcars are loaded and unloaded; and an administration building that includes a board room, scale room and offices. Situated on the east side of Washington, Iowa, the site sits on the Canadian Pacific Railroad and is located approximately 25 miles from U.S. Interstate 80. The site is approximately 27 acres with additional acreage available to allow for possible future expansion.