Biodiesel Supplier Poised and Waiting

COLD SPRING, Ohio -- Griffin Industries, a biodiesel manufacturing plant based here, has expanded its production with two more plants to meet demand. Currently, two million gallons of the plant- and animal fat based fuel is produced annually for use in most diesel engines, but the distribution of the fuel has not been expanded in two years, reported the Community Recorder.

Lykins Oil Co. sells the biodiesel fuel at stations in Silver Grove, Independence and Hebron, Ohio. The number of stations that sell the fuel have not changed in the two years it has been offered. "We haven't added or deleted any," Ron Lykins, vice president for transportation for Lykins, told the Community Recorder. "I think as time goes on … we'll see it added at more retail outlets."

Lukins did not comment on the amount of biodiesel fuel sold, but did tell the newspaper that sales are increasing. "Almost every day there's more and more customers becoming interested in it … So the market is slowly developing itself," he said.

However, Lykins told the paper that the biodiesel fuel is not a cash cow for the company. This is due to competitive pricing with traditional diesel that only sometimes makes it lower than traditional diesel. Lykins noted that the commodity market for bio materials that are used in the fuel often fluctuates in price.

But Griffin, which has been making the fuel since the 90s, believes that this is just the end of the beginning. "Biodiesel is coming out of its infancy and expanding," Rick Geise, director of marketing for Griffin, told the Community Recorder. "The more petroleum increases, the more likely biodiesel offers an economic advantage."
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