Ethanol Blog

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy has acquired a 70-million-gallon ethanol plant in Ord, Nebraska, as the Council Bluffs, Iowa-based company announced on Monday it closed the acquisition on Oct. 9, 2026. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed and remain confidential, according to the company.

SIRE has expanded its production capacity to 230 million gallons by buying GreenAmerica Biofuels Ord LLC, a subsidiary of Pilot Travel Centers LLC, now operating plants in Iowa and Nebraska.

SIRE said in a news release that the acquisition was a "direct step" in the company's stated growth strategy of expanding its production base, strengthening its scale and creating new opportunities for value-added agriculture.

"Our strategy is simple and disciplined: grow by investing in Council Bluffs and acquiring quality assets that make SIRE stronger for our members, our farmers and our customers," said Eric Fobes, president and CEO of SIRE.

"The Ord plant fits that standard. It is a well-maintained facility with an experienced team, located in the heart of one of the most productive corn regions in the country. We see it as a strong complement to our Council Bluffs operation, and we're excited to welcome the Ord employees to the SIRE team."

The Ord facility sits in central Nebraska, which the company said gives it a second "origination region, added scale in marketing ethanol, distillers grains and corn oil, and greater operational diversity across its asset base."

SIRE said it plans to retain the plant's workforce and continue local grain purchasing, maintaining the facility's role as a "key market" for area farmers.

Since beginning production in February 2009, SIRE has produced more than 2 billion gallons of ethanol. Its 160 million-gallon-per-year dry mill produces ethanol, distillers grains, corn syrup and corn oil for customers across the U.S., Mexico and the Pacific Rim.

Pilot Travel Centers LLC was founded in 1958 and headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. Pilot is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and has about 30,000 employees.

Pilot has more than 900 locations in 43 states and five Canadian provinces, serving an average of 1.2 million guests per day, according to the news release.

In addition to travel center services, Pilot and its partners offer trucking fleets a variety of solutions for fuel, credit, factoring, maintenance and rewards.

The company operates the third-largest fuel tanker fleet in North America and supplies about 12 billion gallons of fuel per year, according to the news release.

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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