Pacific Ethanol: "The world has changed ... our strategy really hasn't

For ethanol producers, the effects of the recession were compounded by industry specifics. The industry had been on a high-growth trajectory to meet the growing needs of a robust economy and the ever-increasing call for renewable fuels for refining. But then the recession tamped fuel demand, while the sector simultaneously dealt with the effects of rising corn prices. “We hit the proverbial wall,” says Neil Koehler, CEO of Pacific Ethanol.


Pacific Ethanol had borrowed heavily to grow fast in the boom years, and the company was too overleveraged to maneuver when the recession began. As a result, the manufacturing facilities were forced to file for bankruptcy.


But the company restructured and is rebuilding. “We now have three of the four ethanol plants running ... and are back on our feet as the ethanol industry has stabilized and the economy is also coming around,” he says.

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