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| 8-K - FORM 8-K - SOUTHWEST IOWA RENEWABLE ENERGY, LLC | form8k_022610.htm |
February
2010
Members
and Friends:
Production- This certainly has
been a challenging winter season with such the severe weather. Despite the cold
and snow, our team survived, and kept the plant running. The winter storms also
made it difficult getting employees to work and home safely, but we had everyone
making great efforts to get to work. Overall during the first quarter of the
fiscal year we were able to reach nameplate capacity. Our Plant Manager, Dan
Wych, our department managers and our personnel in operations, maintenance, and
material handling did an excellent job keeping everything operating,
particularly our steam line, all under the very difficult weather conditions.
Now with the weather abating and operations returning to a steady state, we are
now focusing on increasing capacity. Recently, we completed a successful upgrade
of our hammer mill motors. In May we are scheduled to install additional
equipment to our water treatment facility. These are two key processes, corn
grind and water quality, which were bottlenecks to our increasing production. We
continue to fine tune the operations, making changes to ensure we maximize
production while achieving high yields and energy efficiency.
Financials- Our 10Q, quarterly
financial report, has been filed with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC)
for the period October 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009. We generated a
positive EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization)
of $5.3 million during this period. You can access this information through our
website at: www.sireethanol.com .
Click on the Investor Relations Tab, and select SIRE's SEC forms are
available for viewing on the SEC's website. The 2009 K-1s (tax
information) were mailed in February. Questions should be directed to Karen
Kroymann, Controller, at 712-352-5007.
Our 2010
Proxy and 2009 Annual Report are available on the website (also at the Investor
Relations Tab). The invitation to our 2010 Annual Meeting has been
sent out. The meeting is scheduled for March 19th at
the Treynor Community Center at 1:00 pm (a location map is available on the
website). Our speakers will be Matt Thibodeaux of Bunge North
America, Inc. who will speak on Risk Management; Jayson Menke of Alerus
Securities Corporation who will speak on the Qualified Matching Service which
may be used by current members to post an offer to purchase or sell currently
owned units; and a representative from the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association,
with an update on biofuels legislative activities. Karol King,
Chairman, Karen Kroymann, Controller, and I are also on the agenda.
After the meeting we will be
conducting guided plant tours; visit our website for further instructions
. Please contact Betty Harmsen, Investor Relations, at 877-776-5999 or
email at proxy@sireethanol.com
to RSVP for the tours, questions regarding the Annual Meeting or to
request copies of the Annual Report and Proxy.
Safety- In March we will
participate in our fifth quarterly audit with the ICM safety group.
Participation in this process has been very important for our Safety
program. Our safety audit score has continued to improve and our last
score put us in the top 5 of the 60 plants participating. We also have Monthly
Safety/ Communication Meetings with all employees to emphasize and expand our
safety training. As of February 23, 2010 we have had 90 days without
a lost time accident.
SIRE Newsletter – Volume IV Issue 1
This newsletter contains forward-looking
statements. We undertake no responsibility to update any
forward-looking statement. When used, the words, “believe,”
“expect,” “will,” “can,” “estimate,” “anticipate” and similar expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. Readers should not
place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements and recognize that the
statements are not predictions of actual future results, which could and likely
will differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements
due to risks and uncertainties, including those described in our Securities and
Exchange Commission filings.
Human Resources- Since our
last newsletter we have welcomed the following employees; James Uhl, Utility
Operator, Jimmy Jones, Welder, Travis Shady, Production Operator, Kevin Pointer,
Production Operator, and Brad Anderson, Maintenance. We also have had several
individuals change positions; Paul Blystone and Ted Perez moved to Material
Handler, Matt Law and David Carlson were promoted to Production Operator
Leads, Darren West moved to Maintenance, and Jake Eikmeier
became the Reliability Manager. We continue to have a group which functions well
together, working as a team. Over this winter they have risen to many
challenges, with our production numbers reflecting their successes.
We
completed Employee Evaluations in January and have implemented an Employee
Incentive Program based on goals for EBITDA, Safety, and
Production.
Markets- Transportation has
been very challenging; again the weather has been the primary
reason. Our rail cars have been delayed by snow and ice on multiple
occasions. We did keep operations running at nameplate while balancing shipments
of DDGS and ethanol. We continue to ship units trains (generally 100 rail cars)
of ethanol to most areas of the USA. Our DDGS are shipped to both domestic and
international destinations. We have a strong local truck market with some trucks
ending up in a container market reaching the Far East. The rail market reaches
as far as Mexico. Corn continues to come in. The holiday weather brought some
significant transportation issues to local customers trying to deliver corn to
the plant; however, we were able to overcome the inventory drop by bringing corn
in from the leased Bunge elevator in downtown Council Bluffs. Below are Updated
Production Graphs:
(the data
has been adjusted to reflect revisions in inventories)
Regulatory Action- The
Renewable Fuel Association is expecting a ruling on the E-15 waiver by June.
This would allow ethanol to be blended with gasoline up to 15%. We will have a
representative from the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association give an update on
pending legislation affecting biofuels at the Annual Meeting.
SIRE Newsletter – Volume IV Issue 1
This newsletter contains forward-looking
statements. We undertake no responsibility to update any
forward-looking statement. When used, the words, “believe,”
“expect,” “will,” “can,” “estimate,” “anticipate” and similar expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. Readers should not
place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements and recognize that the
statements are not predictions of actual future results, which could and likely
will differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements
due to risks and uncertainties, including those described in our Securities and
Exchange Commission filings..
During
the past couple of months, I have had the opportunity to meet and talk with many
of our members. I have enjoyed these meetings and hope to see many of you at the
Annual Meeting. Please feel free to contact me at (712) 352-5002 should you have
any questions or concerns.
Thank you
for your support
Brian
Cahill, General Manager/CEO
SIRE Newsletter – Volume IV Issue 1
This newsletter contains forward-looking
statements. We undertake no responsibility to update any
forward-looking statement. When used, the words, “believe,”
“expect,” “will,” “can,” “estimate,” “anticipate” and similar expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. Readers should not
place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements and recognize that the
statements are not predictions of actual future results, which could and likely
will differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements
due to risks and uncertainties, including those described in our Securities and
Exchange Commission filings.