Soybean processor expands at Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon

Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. will invest over $31 million to increase its soybean processing capabilities at the Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon.    Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. (CGB) will expand its operations at the Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon, investing more than $31 million to increase its soybean processing capabilities, according to a press release issued Tuesday by the Ports of Indiana.
   CGB’s processing plant was constructed in 1997, at that time converting 65,000 bushels of soybeans each day into soybean meal, oil and hull pellets for both food and industrial uses. Since then, the plant has continued to grow its capacity. This latest expansion will double the size of CGB’s Mount Vernon operation.
   “The soybean processing industry is very competitive, and this investment will allow us to remain competitive in the future,” said Steve O’Nan, senior vice president of CGB, in a statement.
   New Orleans-based CGB is jointly owned by two Japanese companies – Itochu Corp. and ZEN-NOH, a federation of agricultural cooperatives.
   About 60 percent of CGB’s Mount Vernon facility volume is shipped via barge, using the Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon.
   The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered CGB up to $45,000 in conditional tax credits based on the company’s investment plans, while Posey County approved additional incentives at the request of the Posey County Indiana Economic Development Partnership.