Governors' Biofuels Coalition

“The dividends have been nice and we have gotten great returns on our investment,” Speck said. “They just recently did a deal, a reverse auction, where you can sell it back and very small percentage of people did that because they believe in what the company is doing and how well it’s run.”

More than 300 spectators came out to celebrate the milestone in the northeast Nebraska village where the plant is housed, a list that included Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen, who flew in from Washington, D.C., for the event.

Ricketts called Siouxland Ethanol one of the best plants in the state and boasted that its product lessens America’s dependence on foreign oil.

He also credited the plant’s recent $8 million expansion for helping Nebraska win Site Selection magazine’s 2016 Governor’s Cup. Siouxland Ethanol’s expansion increased its yearly production by 20 percent and it is now capable of pumping out 80 million gallons of the corn-based fuel on an annual basis, an increase of 15 million gallons from the year before.

“Siouxland is part of the important ethanol industry we have here in our state; they are one of the companies helping us be the second-biggest ethanol producing state,” Ricketts said.

“It’s how we create jobs all across the state and grow agriculture here in our state by taking out commodities like corn and turning it into ethanol and distillers grain — part of that ‘golden triangle’ between our livestock, corn and ethanol that lets us grow our economy.”

While Tuesday’s festivities were of a celebratory nature, officials at Siouxland Ethanol indicated they don’t plan to rest on their laurels.

“We’ve accomplished a lot, but we are focused on the future,” Siouxland Ethanol President and CEO Nick Bowdish told the crowd in attendance before hinting at future expansion plans.