MAUMEE, OHIO, US — The Andersons will be temporarily halting production at its ELEMENT ethanol facility in Colwich, Kansas, US, for an extended maintenance and repair period.

“Our primary reason for taking these actions now is the accelerating decline in demand resulting from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,” said Jim Pirolli, president of The Andersons Ethanol Group. “In the case of the ELEMENT plant, The Andersons and ICM will use the time to focus on the remaining steps needed to gain what we anticipate will be an industry-low carbon score.”

The Andersons also plans to take spring maintenance shutdowns at the four facilities owned by The Andersons Marathon Holdings LLC (TAMH), a joint venture between The Andersons and Marathon Petroleum Corp.

“For the TAMH plants, we will extend the spring maintenance shutdowns, allowing us to practice social distancing and good hygiene to protect our employees and the essential contractors who are required for the shutdown,” Pirolli said. “We continue to communicate regularly with all our employees about staying healthy and modifying work practices to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus.”

The company expects to produce ethanol and its coproducts at approximately 50% of capacity in April, with a return to more normal production when demand improves. It also anticipates bringing the ELEMENT plant back into production in the latter part of the second quarter. The Andersons said these expectations are subject to the lessening of the economic restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Founded in 1947 in Maumee, Ohio, US, The Andersons, Inc. is a diversified company rooted in agriculture that conducts business in the commodity trading, ethanol, plant nutrient and rail sectors. The company co-owns five ethanol plants located in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan and Ohio, that are collectively capable of producing over 545 million gallons of ethanol.

According to Sosland Publishing Company’s 2020 Grain & Milling Annual The Andersons has 75 grain storage facilities with a total licensed grain storage capacity of 180,460,000 bushels.

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