POET LLC is a U.S. biofuel company that specializes in the creation of bioethanol. The privately held corporation, which was originally called Broin Companies, is headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In 2007, the Renewable Fuels Association named POET the largest U.S. ethanol producer, creating 1.1 billion US gallons (4,200,000 m3) of fuel per year.[1] POET currently produces 3 billion gallons of ethanol per year, or 19% of all ethanol produced in the United States.[2]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | bioethanol |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Headquarters | Sioux Falls, South Dakota |
Key people | Jeff Broin, Chairman & CEO Jeff Lautt, President & COO |
| Revenue |  $6.5 billion (2017) |
Number of employees | 2,000 |
| Website | poet |
POET operates 33 ethanol plants spread across Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Minnesota, and South Dakota.[3] Among its coproducts in the process are distillers grains branded Dakota Gold,[4] Inviz,[5] an asphalt rejuvenator branded Jive,[6] and a corn oil branded Voila.[7]
History
editThe company traces its history to a family farm owned by Lowell Broin in Wanamingo, Minnesota, which farmed corn and livestock on 1,200 acres.[2] In 1985, Lowell and his sons built their first ethanol plant.[2] In 1986, it became commercial launching its flagship plant in Scotland, South Dakota in foreclosed ethanol plant under the corporate name Broin Farms which became Broin Companies.
In 2007, it was renamed POET. Then company president Jeff Broin said the new name is not an acronym. He said, “We wanted a name that would represent, rather than describe, who we are and what we do...As a poet takes everyday words and turns them into something valuable and beautiful; we use creativity that comes from common sense to leave things better than we found them.”[8]
The reorganization changes the following company names:
- Broin Companies –> Poet
- Broin Management –> Poet Plant Management
- Broin & Associates –> Poet Design & Construction
- Ethanol Products –> Poet Ethanol Products
- Dakota Gold Marketing –> Poet Nutrition
- Broin Enterprises –> Poet Research Center
Its plants have been visited by President George W. Bush in Wentworth, South Dakota in April 2002, by President Barack Obama in Macon, Missouri in April 2010, and by President Joe Biden in Menlo, Iowa, in April 2022.[citation needed]
In 2022 POET donated over one million dollars in attempt to keep a pork processing facility from building with in the city limits of Sioux Falls SD. Many of those hogs are fed with DDGs produced at POET facilities.[citation needed]
Cellulosic ethanol
editPOET has constructed an $8 million pilot plant to produce cellulosic ethanol made from corn cobs and other crop residue.[9]
A commercial scale project, based on the pilot plant, was undertaken as a joint venture with Royal DSM under the name POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels, LLC.[10] A federal loan guarantee was obtained in July, 2011 for a commercial-scale plant to be built in Emmetsburg, Iowa.[11] This loan guarantee was later declined when the joint venture with Royal DSM was announced.[12] Originally scheduled to open in 2013, the facility opened a year late in September, 2014.[13] It closed down in 2020.[14][15]
References
edit- ^ “Poet Nation's Top Ethanol Producer,” KSFY.com/Action News, September 14, 2007 Archived December 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Jett, Tyler (April 12, 2022). "What to know about Poet, the world-leading ethanol producer President Joe Biden is visiting in Iowa". Des Moines Register. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ "About and also a ethanol plant in Fairmont, NebraskaPOET". POET.
- ^ http://onlyonedakotagold.com/
- ^ http://www.inviz.com
- ^ https://www.jivebypoet.com/
- ^ http://www.voilacornoil.com
- ^ "Broin is Poet™". Ethanolmarket.com. 2007-03-29. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
- ^ "World Environment News - Poet opens first cellulosic ethanol pilot plant". Planet Ark. 2009-01-13. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
- ^ "POET and DSM to make advanced biofuels a reality by 2013". POET web site. POET. January 23, 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
- ^ Matthew L. Wald (July 6, 2011). "U.S. Backs Project to Produce Fuel From Corn Waste". The New York Times. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
The Energy Department plans to provide a $105 million loan guarantee for the expansion of an ethanol factory in Emmetsburg, Iowa, that intends to make motor fuel from corncobs, leaves and husks.
- ^ Poet LLC Launches Joint Venture
- ^ Commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant opens
- ^ "POET-DSM commemorate historic LIBERTY opening". Spencer Daily Reporter. 2014-09-03. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
- ^ "'Project Liberty' cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg closed". Radio Iowa. 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
