News

For Immediate Release

Information Contact:
Natalie Ghidotti
Mangan Holcomb Partners
(501) 376-0321
natalie@manganholcomb.com

Patriot BioFuels Enters the Emerging Biodiesel Market

Arkansas-based company plans to open Stuttgart facility in spring 2006

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Nov. 7, 2005) – Patriot BioFuels, a new Arkansas-based biodiesel company, will locate its recently purchased state-of-the-art equipment in a production facility in Stuttgart. The 31,000-SF building will be producing biodiesel fuels by early spring 2006.

The company’s board of directors consists of representatives from a variety of industries, including agribusiness and fuel distribution. Tommy Foltz, a clean fuels industry veteran of Little Rock, is president of the new company. Little Rock attorney Cal McCastlain is general counsel, and Mike Shook, a principal in Agri-Process Innovations of Stuttgart, is chief of operations.

“Arkansas is poised to take advantage of the emerging bioenergy industry,” Foltz said. “We plan for Patriot BioFuels to be the state’s leader for this important energy source. Biodiesel is a clean fuel that helps protect our environment and reduces our dependence on foreign oil. And with our location in Stuttgart, we hope to positively affect the Delta’s economy. ”

The biodiesel industry has grown dramatically in recent years, with major industries, such as agriculture and trucking, and municipalities looking for competitively priced and cleaner ways to operate their vehicles. Heavy users of biodiesel include school buses, transit buses, freight companies and farmers. More than 35 biodiesel plants have opened across the country; Patriot BioFuels will be the first independent producer in Arkansas.

Because of biodiesel’s lubricity, the Little Rock School District and Pulaski County Special School District have enjoyed greater fuel efficiencies when using biodiesel. Both districts increased their average miles per gallon by 12 percent to 16 percent with biodiesel.

Biodiesel can be made from vegetable oils, such as soybean oil, rendered chicken or animal fat and fish oil. Patriot BioFuels will produce its biodiesel from a combination of soybean oil and rendered animal fat.

Initially, the production facility will employ five to eight operations personnel. Only a fraction of the Stuttgart facility space will initially be used, with plans to expand over the next few years as biodiesel demand grows.

Biodiesel is most commonly used as a blend with conventional diesel. The highest blend level available is B20, which is 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel. Although biofuels can be used at any mixture, including 100 percent biofuel, the B20 mixture provides better efficiency, more oil displacement and cleaner emissions.

“We see Patriot BioFuels as a complement to existing fuel sources. In the wake of a national disaster, such as Hurricane Katrina, our production can extend a fuel supply that is stretched to its limit,” Foltz said.

The partners in Patriot BioFuels have been involved in this emerging industry for several years. Foltz spent four years in Washington, D.C. overseeing the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Clean Cities Program, a market-development program for non-petroleum fuels. After leaving the federal agency, he opened a clean fuels public affairs firm in Washington, D.C. He returned to Little Rock in 2001 to work for Blue Energy, selling natural gas for vehicle use. Before starting Patriot BioFuels, Foltz owned his own consulting firm in Little Rock.

Mike Shook, a partner in the new company and principal of Agri-Process Innovations in Stuttgart, helped author a recent feasibility study on biodiesel production in Arkansas for Winrock International. He and Steve Danforth, a partner in Agri-Process Innovations, have added a level of technical expertise not found in many biodiesel companies, Foltz said.

“Mike and Steve bring a level of technical expertise that few other biodiesel companies in the country can match,” he said. “With their experience, we can move quickly from conception to production, getting needed product to our customers.”

In 2004, the U.S. biodiesel industry sold about 25 million gallons of fuel. Hundreds of major fleets use biodiesel, including all branches of the U.S. military; Yellowstone National Park; NASA; cities, such as Seattle; major public utility fleets, such as Florida Power & Light; and more than 100 school districts across the country. Fuel experts forecast the production of biodiesel to double this year. Other nations are ahead of the United States in biofuel production. In Germany, 350 million gallons of biodiesel was sold in 2004.

Emerging markets for biodiesel include the on-road trucking industry. Some of this growth is due to singer Willie Nelson promoting the use of biodiesel among truckers. Nelson started his own company, selling B20 “BioWillie” at truck stops throughout the country.

Investors and board of directors members include: Foltz, McCastlain, Shook, Danforth, Mike Coulson of Coulson Oil in North Little Rock, Noal Lawhon of Delta King Seed Co. in McCrory, Wade Whistle of Osceola, Bobby Gammil of Tyronza, Mike McCarty of Blytheville, Richard Vincent of Houston, Bryan Fancher of Huntsville, Ala., and Andrew Browning, director of government affairs for Methanex in Washington, D.C., the world’s largest producer of methanol, a critical ingredient to biodiesel production.

“The demand for biodiesel among Arkansas’ farmers is high,” McCastlain said. “Patriot BioFuels has brought together experts from the state’s agriculture and fuel and energy industries to make sure we’re providing the best product to consumers.”

-30-