A Connecticut investment company has acquired White Energy’s food ingredient and ethanol manufacturing operation in Russell, Kansas.
Terms were not disclosed but the sale of the operations owned by the Plano, Texas company includes two integrated plants. One is the largest vital wheat gluten manufacturing facility in North America. The other is considered one of the country’s most cost-efficient ethanol production facilities.
The buyer is Strategic Value Partners which is a global investment company with $8 billion of assets under management.
“The Russell facilities have a unique value proposition in the food ingredient and renewable energy markets,” said Victor Khosla, SVPGlobal’s founder and chief investment officer. “We look forward to working with the employees at Russell to make this great business into an even better independent company.”
SVPGlobal will now operate the following facilities as a standalone enterprise:
- Russell Gluten: With an annual production capacity of 56 million pounds, this is the nation’s largest producer of vital wheat gluten, a plant-based protein used as an ingredient in a number of attractive and high-growth food markets including baked goods, pet foods, and vegetarian and vegan foods. The new company will continue to market premier food ingredient products under the Heartland brand name, trusted by leading brands in the food and beverage industry.
- Russell Ethanol: This facility produces over 50 million gallons of ethanol per year — at some of the lowest unit costs in the industry and with the best carbon footprint of any facility of its kind in the United States. The low-carbon fuel is sent to premium clean fuel markets where the company receives attractive carbon credits. These achievements are made possible by the plant’s unique design, which enables it to consume starch by-products generated at the adjacent gluten facility.
“SVPGlobal is inheriting a talented team of highly capable professionals in Russell,” said White Energy CEO Greg Thompson. “With the resources and expertise that SVP brings to the table, these facilities will remain leaders in the food ingredient and renewable fuel markets.”
The Russell facilities employ approximately 80 people. Day-to-day operations will continue to be managed by the same highly-successful team to ensure no change to the quality of its products or customer service.
White Energy will continue to operate ethanol production facilities in Hereford and Plainview, TX, with the capacity to produce 260 million gallons of biofuel a year.
