Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Aylmer plant leads the way in ethanol innovation

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

by SUSAN MANN

Aylmer-based ethanol producer Integrated Grain Processors Cooperative Ethanol Inc. has received a $3.7 million federal government loan to install new technology that will help increase the company’s production.

While similar equipment is being installed in U.S. plants, Integrated Grain Processors will be the first company in the world to be up and running with the technology, said the co-operative’s CEO, Jim Grey, in a telephone interview today.

The new fibre separation technology will boost the company’s output of ethanol, corn oil and dried distillers grain by about 10 per cent, Grey said.

It will also enable the company to run the plant faster so IGPC is planning to boost its corn acquisitions this year from southwestern Ontario farmers to 18 million bushels, up from 16 million bushels currently.

Grey explained the technology removes “the fibre portion, which is essentially the skin of the corn kernel and just in doing that it essentially allows us to run the plant faster so we get greater efficiencies as a plant.”

The removal of the fibre also “increases the protein level of our byproduct, our DDG (dried distillers grain) stream, so that creates greater value for that product,” he said.

Once the technology is up and running, the company will be able to do more projects, such as taking the fibre and converting it into sugars “and then convert those sugars into new products.”

Grey said the company produces 52 million gallons or 200 million litres of ethanol annually.

The funding announcement was made Tuesday in Aylmer by federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.

Grey said the $3.7 million from the federal government is an interest-free, 10-year loan. The federal government said in its release the money is from the five-year AgriInnovation program.

The total cost of the technology, a series of machines housed in a large building, is $10 million, Grey said. It was developed by U.S.-based ICM Inc., the company that initially built the Integrated Grain Processors’ plant.

Grey said construction to install the technology started in the fall of 2014 and the company is slated “to commission the system in May.”

Integrated Grain Processors is a division of IGPC Inc. and is one of Ontario’s largest co-operatives, the federal government release says. It employs 50 people full time at the Aylmer plant and was founded in 2002 by 780 farmers and agribusinesses. BF
 

Current Issue

May 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

New board members for Ontario Pork

Friday, April 25, 2025

Ontario Pork, an association representing the 1,898 pork farms that market 5.9 million hogs in the province, has announced its new board lineup for 2025. As a Guelph, Ontario-headquartered organization, Ontario Pork is engaged in the areas of research, government representation,... Read this article online

Sheep farmers win Ontario’s Outstanding Young Farmers

Thursday, April 24, 2025

Sheep farmers and wool producers from Wallenstein, Ont. are Ontario’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2025. “It’s great to be recognized by your peers in the industry with an award like that,” Ryan Schill told Farms.com. “When we started the sheep farm, there were people questioning us... Read this article online

Ontario ag connections in the NHL playoffs

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

The 2025 NHL playoffs are underway, and some of hockey’s biggest names got their start on an Ontario farm or have invested in agriculture since becoming professional athletes. Farms.com went through each of the 16 playoff team rosters to uncover which players have a connection to... Read this article online

New Alcohol Trade Freedom in Ontario

Thursday, April 17, 2025

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has welcomed Ontario’s bold step in eliminating trade barriers and allowing direct alcohol sales to consumers. This new legislation aims to ease internal trade across provinces and support small businesses. One of the key changes... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top