Biofuel company shakes off fire's ashes By JULIE SHEHANE March, 18, 2009
Hardin Fuels Inc. expects to be producing biofuel within the next month and company officials say a Feb. 19 fire that destroyed the company's production building has not interrupted business as they had expected. "We have already started on a slab for a new building, which is going to be bigger and taller than our previous facility," said company president Ken Batman. "We had about 30,000 gallons of fuel on hand but we purchased more so that our customers would not have to go elsewhere for fuel, and also so that all of our employees could continue to work and get paid while we rebuild." The fire caused an estimated $300,000 in equipment and structural damage and later was ruled an accident, according to Batman. He said his insurance company already has reimbursed him for the damages. "Our insurance agent was out here fast and they believe the fire was caused by some electrical problem in one of the walls or maybe in a refrigerator that was in the building," Batman said. The blaze destroyed the 40-by-60-foot wood-frame barn on the 1.9-acre site near Kountze. Wood will not be used in construction of the new 60-by-80-foot building, according to Batman. Construction should be complete within 60 days, Batman estimates. "We will be producing something within a month from now and we expect to be producing at 100 percent within six weeks," he said. "We are very fortunate." The company, which opened in August 2007, employs 12 and produces an estimated 15,000 gallons of biofuel monthly, according to Batman. Biofuel typically sells for about 30 cents less a gallon than standard diesel fuel, he said.. Considered environmentally friendly, biofuel contains a mixture of oil from rice bran, sunflower seeds, flax or cottonseed, combined with about 10 percent diesel fuel.
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