The City of Marks pins high hopes on new Biodiesel Plant
by MARK BIRD
DBJ Contributing Writer

Officials in Marks remain confident that a growing biodiesel fuels producer will choose their town as the site of a new refinery operation. While Nettleton-based BioDiesel of Mississippi, Inc. has yet to make a formal announcement of a site selection for the plant, Marks Mayor Dwight Barfield maintains that his town is the primary site under consideration.

“We’ve had a lease agreement with BioDiesel for a site here for over a year,” Barfield states, “and I fully believe their final decision will be in our favor. The lease is for ten years, and the site is right across the street from Bunge North America, a major producer of soybean oil. It would be only logical for BioDiesel to locate close to Bunge.”

In addition to the Quitman County site in Marks, company officials have been looking at sites in Coahoma and Sunflower counties for the location of an estimated $700,000 plant that will be the firm’s second in the state. BioDiesel of Mississippi converts natural and renewable sources such as soybean oil into cleaner-burning diesel fuel for 18-wheel trucks and other vehicles. Demand for biodiesel is expected to increase dramatically over the next several years, as the federal government implements tough new legislation regarding emissions standards and requiring increased use of renewable fuels. Biodiesel fuels eliminate over 75 percent of the harmful emissions found in traditional diesel fuel, and improve mileage.

BioDiesel of Mississippi was incorporated last year by a group of private investors. A major stockholder is Pontotoc businessman William Tacker, who has worked closely with Marks officials, according to Mayor Barfield. (Tacker was unavailable for comment.) The company’s first plant, at its Nettleton headquarters, is a $1 million facility on a 14-acre site.

All Delta counties are striving to bring in new industry and jobs, to stimulate their local economies, and Barfield speaks enthusiastically about the benefits the BioDiesel plant would bring to his community. “Quitman County has probably the third highest unemployment in the Delta,” he points out, “so we would certainly welcome the 50-plus jobs the plant would directly create. Company officials have also indicated to me that the plant would be likely to generate spin-off businesses tied to by-products, as well as other small related businesses.

“Everyone would benefit, including our existing businesses. The plant will pump millions into our economy, which will help us continue to provide opportunities and a good quality of life for our citizens.

“I remain very optimistic about our chances.”

If BioDiesel does indeed build the new facility in Marks, Barfield says the town will apply for a grant to widen and resurface one of its major streets that would carry a large volume of plant truck traffic. Other infrastructure needs will be addressed by the company itself, he adds.

According to Barfield, once a final decision is made, construction should start quickly. It will take approximately 12 months to complete construction and start operations, he reports. DBJ