Chemical Processing Dominates This Year's Project Kickoffs in Mount Vernon, Indiana

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Posey County, Indiana, holds the most in project spending in the state for 2016 kickoffs--$2.07 billion for 12 projects, as tracked by Industrial Info. Lead by the Chemical Processing Industry, the county's projects are all in the county seat of Mount Vernon. Other industries that have projects kicking off this year in that city include food & beverage, petroleum refining and pharmaceutical & biotech.

Click on image at right for chart detailing project spending by Industry in Mount Vernon, Indiana.

The Chemical Processing Industry has four projects kicking off this year in the county worth a whopping $2.02 billion. All of these projects are part of the Mount Vernon Nitrogenous Fertilizers plant. Owned by the Fatima Group, a private conglomerate based in Pakistan, in conjunction with Midwest Fertilizer (Indianapolis, Indiana), this plant's projects include a $900 million ammonia plant, a $900 million urea and nitric acid units project, a $200 million urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) project and a $20 million diesel exhaust fluid addition.

Although delayed several times in the past, current expectations for funding approval are set for August. If approved, civil construction for these projects will kick off in September and last for approximately six months. Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions (Dortmund, Germany) will be the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company. According to Midwest Fertilizer, the nitrogenous fertilizers facility's total cost amounts to $2.4 billion and will create more than 2.500 construction jobs and up to 200 ongoing permanent and contract positions. The completion date for these projects is slated for March 2019.

The Food & Beverage Industry has one project kicking off in 2016 valued at $30 million. This project consists of a soybean processing expansion at the Mount Vernon Soybean plant. Owned by Consolidated Grain and Barge Enterprises Incorporated (Covington, Louisiana), the expansion will involve increasing soybean processing capabilities by installing a new desolventizing toaster and a new extractor plus auxiliary equipment. Currently in the planning stages, the project is set to kick off in November, with a completion date in April of next year.

The Petroleum Refining Industry has three projects kicking off or having kicked off this year worth a total of $18 million. All are at the Mount Vernon Refinery, which is owned by Countrymark Cooperative. Originally built in 1940, the refinery currently processes 28,000 barrels of crude oil per day and brings 450 million gallons of fuel products to the market per year, according to Countrymark's website. The current projects at this plant tracked by Industrial Info include a $10 million fluid catalytic cracker unit particulate reduction, a $5 million diesel storage tank addition and crude tank conversion and a $3 million annual tank farm maintenance program.

The Pharmaceutical & Biotech Industry has four projects worth $7 million starting this year. These include a plant cell room renovation, an outage/maintenance shutdown, a tablet press suites renovation and a roller compactor granulation addition, all at the Mount Vernon Leukemia & Hepatitis B Solid Doses plant, owned by AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE:AZN). All of these projects are planned to be completed this year.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.