Pinal Energy LLC in Maricopa, Ariz., is back online after being down for the past year and half. “We started grinding last week, distillation started up on the weekend and we’re up and running, going full steam,” reported General Manager Keith Kor.

During the extended shutdown in a time negative margins, the plant owners, Arizona Grain, kept the management team, including shift supervisors, on the payroll. “Our guys worked hard,” Kor said. Maintenance issues were dealt with, plus some changes were made. As a result, the plant is restarting at a 60 MMgy capacity, up from 50 MMgy before.

Though the management team was kept intact, 32 new employees were trained in over the past weeks as the team prepared for restart.

Located 45 miles south of Phoenix, Pinal Energy is sited on rail adjacent to Arizona Grain which supplies corn and distillers grains to two nearby feedlots.

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