By Faughn Hi-Tech • New Developments • Renewable Energy 0 Comments

Aemetis provide updates of RNG, cellulosic ethanol projects

By Erin Voegele | March 13, 2020
Aemestis Inc. released fourth quarter financial results on March 12, reporting increased revenues and progress with the development of its cellulosic ethanol and renewable natural gas (RNG) projects. During an earnings call, Eric McAfee, chairman and CEO of Aemetis, said the company has signed participation agreements with 17 dairies for its RNG project. The company has also built and tested two dairy lagoon digesters, and has designed and permitted a 4-mile pipeline that is now under construction to connect the dairy digesters to its corn ethanol plant in Keyes, California. The RNG project is currently expected to begin generating revenue for Aemetis during the second quarter of this year. According to McAfee, the company plans to complete construction of the next 15 digesters by the end of 2021.

McAfee also provided an update of the company’s proposed 12 MMgy cellulosic ethanol plant in Riverbank, California, that will employ LanzaTech gas microbe ethanol production technology. Last year, Aemetis signed three significant financings related to the Riverbank project, including a $5 million grant from the California Energy Commision, a $12.5 million tax waiver that offsets equity funding required for the project, and the signing of a $125 million United States Department of Agriculture conditional commitment letter for a 20-year debt financing under the 9003 biorefinery program, according to McAfee. Currently, he said the company is focused on completing engineering of the plant required for the negotiation of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract. McAfee said financial closing to being construction of the Riverbank plant is dependent on completing the engineering and procurement work required for the signing of the construction contract. During the call, McAfee also described several upgrades that are being made to the company’s Keyes ethanol plant. One upgrade involves the development of a carbon dioxide liquification plant by Linde Gas adjacent to the Keyes plant. McAfee said construction on the CO2 capture equipment and piping for the Keyes plant was complete in January. Once the project becomes fully operational in the second quarter, the new liquification plant is expected to convert approximately 150,000 tons per year of CO2 produced by the Keyes plant into liquid CO2 for sale to local food processors, beverage producers and other industrial users.

The Keyes plant is also adding a Mitsubishi membrane dehydration system to the Keyes plant. That dehydration unit was delivered to the Keyes plant in late February, McAfee said, and is currently being installed. Aemetis is also working to add a solar microarray, high-efficiency heat exchanger, and mechanical vapor recompression system to the Keyes plant. Aemetis also operates a biodiesel plant in India. The company reported revenues of $52.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2019, up from $38.8 million for the same period of last year. Gross profit was $5.8 million, compared to a gross loss of $1.9 million. Operating profit was $1 million, compared to an operating loss of $6.7 million reported for the same period of 2018. Net loss attributable to Aemetis was $6.7 million, compared to a net loss of $11.4 million for the fourth quarter of the previous year. For the full year, revenues reached $202 million, up from $171.5 million in 2018. Gross profit was $12.7 million, up from $5.4 million. Operating loss for 2019 reached $4.9 million, compared to an operating loss of $10.9 million for 2018.

http://biomassmagazine.com/articles/16886/aemetis-provide-updates-of-rng-cellulosic-ethanol-projects

By Faughn Food Processing • Manufacturing 0 Comments

Blue Diamond Completes Turlock Expansion

ANGELINA MARTIN
May 12, 2020

Less than 15 months after breaking ground on the project, Blue Diamond Growers recently announced the expansion of its Turlock manufacturing plant is complete. The 52,000 square foot addition to the existing 200,000 square foot facility in town is one of two major expansions for Blue Diamond, a nonprofit grower-owned cooperative and the world’s leading processor and marketer of almonds. The other, in Salida, will be completed in May. The new Turlock expansion increases Blue Diamond’s value-added almond processing capabilities with an automated factory that features state-of-the-art handling, processing and packaging equipment and also provides space for a future manufacturing line to support both current business or new innovations.

The completion of the expansion comes as Blue Diamond celebrates its 110th anniversary and just seven years after its Turlock facility opened. Since 2013, Turlock’s Blue Diamond facility has received a number of accolades, including Food Engineering Magazine’s title of the 2014 Plant of the Year, as well as being named to Boston Consulting Group’s list of the fastest-growing midsize companies in the nation. The company is no stranger to building facilities quickly — Blue Diamond was able to move from groundbreaking to startup for the original plant in just 13 months. At the expansion’s groundbreaking ceremony in January 2019, Blue Diamond President and CEO Mark Jansen said they hoped to get the additional space built quickly due to the company’s rapid growth. Just over a year later, that goal was accomplished.

The new facility will be used specifically to create an integrated almond beverage base line, where, for the first time, everything needed for the product will be manufactured in the same facility. The base for Blue Diamond’s beverage line, Almond Breeze, will be created at the Turlock expansion through a process of blanching, splitting, roasting and grinding the almonds into a buttery paste, which will then be shipped all over the world to be mixed with water and sold as almond milk. Blue Diamond’s Almond Breeze production has experienced double digit growth over the last 20 years. In 2018, the brand grew by 14 percent. The original Turlock Blue Diamond facility is already processing about 25 percent more almonds than the company originally thought possible for the plant’s capacity after the company recently added an almond flour line to the mix.

The expansion comes as phase two in a three-phase, 15-year project that began when Blue Diamond purchased 88 acres at the intersection of North Washington and Fulkerth Road in late 2011. Since then, companies like Hilmar Cheese and Valley Milk have made their way into the Turlock Regional Industrial Park, while already-established facilities like United States Cold Storage and Sunnyside Farms are also currently in expansion mode. The second expansion in Salida is the new Bulk 8 Warehouse at the Salida facility that originally opened as an almond receiving station in 1969. Today the 675,000 square foot facility sits on 44 acres and includes a retail nut and gift shop. The new 58,000 square foot bulk storage facility is on schedule to be completed by the end of May, providing an additional 50 million pounds of in-house bulk almond storage capacity in time to receive the 2020 almond harvest. The 65-foot-tall building includes advanced design with an automated gravity fed spiral conveyance system that improves grower delivery efficiency and reduces damage to the almonds. “It is particularly meaningful for Blue Diamond to be able to commemorate our Founders Day today by not only recognizing our humble beginnings 110 years ago, but also celebrating two key growth milestones that help secure our future,” Jansen said. “I couldn’t be more proud that, despite the unprecedented challenges businesses around the world have faced over the past two months, our incredible team has been able to sustain operations as an essential food supplier, while completing these critical expansion projects ahead of schedule to meet customer needs.”

To celebrate the expansions and give back during the coronavirus pandemic, Blue Diamond, along with partners Union Pacific and Sun-Maid Growers of California, committed to a donation match of $50,000 to help support three food banks in northern and central California that are struggling to meet significant demand from local families in need.

https://www.turlockjournal.com/news/local/blue-diamond-completes-turlock-expansion/

By Faughn New Developments • New Location 0 Comments

Drive-in movies light up Merced County. Local group brings mobile cinema to Los Banos

Once a symbol of a bygone era, the drive-in movie has come roaring back in the Central Valley spurred on by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, its ensuing shutdowns and subsequent desire for safe family outings. Now a local group is committed to bringing the concept to Los Banos and beyond. The Nightlight, a new mobile outdoor drive-in cinema and concert project, launches this weekend at the Los Banos Fairgrounds. Started by two cousins, one a valley native and one who spent his summers here growing up, the idea started when both saw their normal industries paused because of the COVID-19 outbreak. “We were reminiscing about early childhood movie marathon nights and we got an idea to get a drive-in together,” said Los Banos native Gia La Salvia, who is spearheading the project along with cousin Brian Perry.

Drive-in movies returned to Stanislaus and Tuolumne counties last month, with success and sold-out screenings. The Nightlight held an invitation-only preview at the fairgrounds last weekend, and opens it public slate this weekend Friday and Saturday, June 12 and 13, with the beloved childhood movie “The Sandlot,” a 1993 coming-of-age classic about a group of friends who spend their summer playing baseball together. La Salvia works as a film producer in London, but when the coronavirus halted normal life and work, she returned to the region. Her cousin, Perry, works in construction in the Bay Area and also saw his work slow down. Together they have engineered a concept using shipping containers, available FM technology and the fairgrounds in Los Banos to recreate the classic drive-in experience.

https://www.modbee.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/biz-beat/article243430066.html

By Faughn E-Commerce • Manufacturing 0 Comments

Supply Chain Breaks Put New Spotlight on Central Valley’s Potential

Supply chains being spread thin or broken entirely by the coronavirus pandemic have brought new scrutiny to inland California’s industrial market. Along with other inland hub markets like the Inland Empire and the Pennsylvania I-78/81 corridor, the Central Valley may benefit from a surge in business inventories and re-shoring spurred by companies’ reactions to the coronavirus, CBRE concluded in a recent report. Courtesy of CBRE Eastgate Business Park in Tracy, Calif. As more manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers opt to store materials and inventories closer to consumers, space for all those goods is in high demand.

Suppliers will likely gravitate toward inland markets as opposed to space-limited and expensive seaport-adjacent markets, according to CBRE, which also points to e-commerce’s continued growth as another likely boon for the sector. “It’s really securitization of the supply chain and avoiding supply chain disruption,” said CBRE Executive Vice President Thomas Davis, who leads the company’s Central Valley Industrial Practice group.  “It has performed very well, and we expect it to perform very well going forward,” Davis said of the Central Valley’s industrial CRE market. In its report, CBRE said the pandemic has highlighted how quickly issues can arise with just-in-time production networks, reversing a decades-long downward trend in inventory-to-sales ratios. Such a reversal could cause industrial demand to surge in inland hub markets, CBRE Research said, projecting a 5% increase in business inventories that require 400M to 500M more SF of warehouse space.

Last month, Colliers International Senior Vice President Gregory Healy, an expert in location strategy and supply chains, said he expects a push for supply chain resilience to result in demands for 750M SF to 1B SF of industrial space in the U.S. alone. Central Valley industrial CRE is likely moving forward from an already strong starting point. As in Southern California’s industrial markets, the region has continued to see deal flow despite the pandemic, Lee & Associates Senior Vice President and Central Valley industrial broker Jim Martin said.  Leasing and investment sales have stayed on track, according to Martin, who said he thinks there will probably be an increase in warehouse and distribution in the region as companies look to increase inventories. “The Central Valley will continue to see migration/expansion from the Bay Area given the availability of land, labor and transportation,” Martin said in an email. Martin, who just worked with Nearon Enterprises on acquiring the 155K SF Eastgate Business Park in Tracy, California, said deals like that one represent a telling commitment to the Central Valley. That industrial purchase was Nearon’s first in the Central Valley, according to Martin, though Nearon didn’t immediately respond to a request for confirmation.

https://www.bisnow.com/san-jose/news/industrial/californias-sprawling-central-valley-poised-for-industrial-boom-from-new-supply-chain-needs-104763

By Faughn Energy • Renewable Energy 0 Comments

GLOBAL CLEAN ENERGY HOLDINGS, INC. ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF BAKERSFIELD REFINERY

 | Source: Global Clean Energy Holdings, Inc.

BAKERSFIELD, California, May 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Global Clean Energy Holdings, Inc. (OTC: GCEH) announced that on May 7, 2020, through a subsidiary, it purchased Alon Bakersfield Properties, Inc., a subsidiary of Delek US Holdings, Inc. and the owner of the Alon Bakersfield Refinery. The total cash consideration paid to Delek US Holdings for the purchase was $40 million.

Alon Bakersfield Refinery is an existing oil refinery located in Bakersfield, California.  Historically, the refinery has produced diesel from crude oil.  GCEH will immediately commence retooling the refinery to produce renewable diesel from organic feedstocks such as vegetable oils. The facility, when repurposed as a renewable fuels refinery, will vertically integrate to produce renewable diesel from various feedstocks, including GCEH’s patented proprietary fallow land crop varieties of camelina. Traditionally, grown in rotation with wheat, camelina is cultivated as an alternative to fallow so as not to displace or compete with food crops. The balance of feedstock will be provided from various non-petroleum renewable feedstocks, such as used cooking oil, soybean oil, distillers’ corn oil, and others.

No petroleum processing of any kind will occur hereafter at the refinery, either during or following the retooling effort. Instead, the refinery will be repurposed to become a producer of low-carbon renewable fuels that meet the needs of the California Low Carbon Fuels Standard.  Fuels produced from the facility will result in significant reductions of both greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and local air pollutants like particulate matter. The retooling is expected to take between 18 to 20 months to complete, with the primary work being conducted by union trades through a local Bakersfield EPC contractor, ARB, Inc., a Primoris Services Corp subsidiary (NASDAQ: PRIM).  As an existing oil refinery, the refinery already has a significant portion of the necessary equipment in place for the production of renewable diesel. An estimated 100 union tradesmen from a diverse variety of crafts will be used to conduct a full turnaround and refurbishment of the necessary equipment to produce renewable diesel. Following startup, currently anticipated to be in late 2021, the repurposed refinery is expected to supply a meaningful portion of the demand for clean-burning alternative diesel fuels in California.

GCEH also announced that it has entered into two credit facilities to finance the work to be provided by ARB, Inc. and other construction companies, the clean-up of the site, the facilities’ operating costs, and other project costs during the construction and initial post-construction periods. Strategically located in Bakersfield within a large regional demand center, and only a short distance from the Los Angeles metropolitan area and the San Francisco Bay Area, fuels produced at the site will be available to be blended into the California transportation fuel mix.  The blended fuel will reduce the overall GHG emissions and other harmful local pollutants in the San Joaquin Valley and elsewhere in California.  GCEH’s plan is to have the renewable fuels that are produced at the facility sold to, and thereafter, marketed and distributed through various partnerships, including one with a multi-national oil major.

Richard Palmer, Chief Executive Officer of Global Clean Energy Holdings, commented, “We are thrilled to announce this exciting new venture in Bakersfield, California; a venture that leverages the region’s core competencies in agriculture and both traditional and alternative energy.” Mr. Palmer added, “we expect that this project will be a catalyst for economic development and will  generate both direct and indirect job opportunities in Kern County and the region.”

Certain matters discussed in this press release are “forward-looking statements” of Global Clean Energy Holdings, Inc. (herein referred to as “GCEH,” “we,” “us,” or “our”)  as that term is defined under the federal securities laws. We may, in some cases, use terms such as “believes,” “potential,” “continue,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “could,” “might,” “will,” “should” or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to the success and timing of the activities required to retool the Bakersfield refinery, the sufficiency of the funding available under the two credit facilities to complete the retooling and the startup of the Refinery, the cost and availability of feedstocks to be used in the repurposed renewable fuels refinery, general economic and business conditions, and other risks described in GCEH’s filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.  Forward-looking information is based on information available at the time and/or management’s good faith belief with respect to future events and is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the statements. GCEH undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur, or which GCEH becomes aware of, after the date hereof, except as required by applicable law or regulation.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/05/08/2030327/0/en/GLOBAL-CLEAN-ENERGY-HOLDINGS-INC-ANNOUNCES-ACQUISITION-OF-BAKERSFIELD-REFINERY.html

 

By Faughn Food Processing 0 Comments

Crystal Creamery revamps its Modesto-made ice cream toward more natural ingredients

Crystal Creamery has gone back to basics at its ice cream plant in Modesto, switching out artificial ingredients for those closer to nature. Customers can find the new concoctions in pint and 48-ounce containers across all 29 flavors. The change brought only a slight increase in retail prices, said Brian Carden, the company’s senior director of sales, during a June 2 tour for the Modesto Bee. Out went monoglycerides and diglycerides, which stabilize ice cream during the initial freezing. In came stuff like guar gum, derived from guar beans, and lecithin from soybeans.

Artificial flavors and colors gave way to those extracted from natural sources, such as the annatto that gives vanilla ice cream its slightly yellow hue. “To me, it’s a better ice cream today than we had prior to making all these changes,” said Eddie Scoto, a production manager at the Kansas Avenue plant. “And we were able to remove things that people don’t like to see on the label.” The products are in hundreds of stores from Bakersfield north to the Oregon boarder. Retailers in and near Stanislaus County include O’Brien’s Market, Cost Less Foods, Walmart and Food 4 Less.

The folks at Crystal don’t claim that their ice cream is suddenly healthy. It’s still high in fat and sugar and is meant to be an occasional treat (never more so than during a pandemic). Carden said the changes followed market research that found many consumers concerned about what’s in their food. “They don’t like artificial flavors and they don’t like artificial colors,” he said. And the sweeteners no longer include high-fructose corn syrup, which has a bad reputation among some consumers. Crystal worked with its suppliers to assure that chocolate chips, fruit purees and other ingredients contained nothing artificial. And it simply removed any coloring for chocolate mint ice cream, which had been an artificial green. Now it’s white, but as minty-tasting as ever thanks to peppermint extract.

Crystal employs 968 people, about 500 of them at the Modesto complex. This site also produces fluid milk, butter, sour cream, powders and several other items. The milk arrives daily from farms in the San Joaquin Valley. The company does not disclose how much ice cream it produces or how much money it brings in, but Carden said sales are up since the changeover. Crystal also owns Humboldt Creamery, an organic operation near Eureka that has always had natural ingredients in its ice cream. The organic label also requires that the cattle feed not be grown with synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, among other things.

Crystal is owned by the Foster family of Modesto, which also has the separate Foster Farms poultry operation. Poultry launched in 1939, dairy two years later. The Crystal label dates to the 1901 founding of Crystal Cream and Butter Co. in Sacramento. The Foster family purchased in it 2007 and later adopted the brand for all of its dairy products. “Crystal Creamery has been a local favorite for over a century, and we are excited to take our great tasting ice cream to the next level,” said Carolina Hoyos, senior marketing manager, in a news release.

https://www.modbee.com/news/business/article243105791.html

By Faughn Workforce 0 Comments

Fresno State nursing master’s program is accredited once again

FRESNO, California (KSEE/KGPE) – Fresno State’s master’s degree nursing program is accredited once again, according to an announcement by the university Tuesday.

It comes after the master’s degree nursing program at Fresno State lost its accreditation just under one year ago. The accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) will remain until June 2025. In addition, Fresno State says its baccalaureate degree nursing program and its online psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner post-graduate certificate program have both been accredited until June 2030. “The success of our students is vital to growing a health care workforce in the Central Valley and, with that, we are pleased to admit our newest cohort of the master’s program this coming fall 2020 semester,” said chair of the School of Nursing Dr. Sylvia Miller.

https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/education/fresno-state-nursing-masters-program-is-accredited-once-again/

 

By Faughn Economy 0 Comments

U.S. Employment Outlook Hits 10 year Low

  • Hiring plans decline across all 12 sectors with those in wholesale and retail trade and construction reporting most significant reductions
  • Manpower report has bad news for Bakersfield, but fairly good news for Fresno, Sacramento and Stockton
  • Some early signs of optimism emerge

Employers in the U.S. report significant declines in hiring plan for the third quarter, according to the ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN) employment outlook survey of more than 7,700 U.S. employers conducted in April and May and released Tuesday. Hiring plans in wholesale and retail trade and construction show steepest declines from the previous quarter reflecting the impact of the shelter in place orders across the country. In contrast, employers in education and health services (+13 percent) and transportation and utilities (+4 percent) report the most positive outlooks as frontline workers continue to be in high demand both through and after the pandemic peak.

In 18 percent of businesses surveyed across the West, employers expect to grow payrolls during the July to September period. With 13 percent of employers anticipating a decline and 59 percent expecting no change, the resulting net employment outlook is +5 percent. But once data are adjusted to allow for seasonal variation, the outlook decreases considerably quarterover-quarter and year-over-year, and is the weakest reported since 2010 Moderately weaker hiring plans are reported in three sectors: education & health services, information and nondurable goods manufacturing. Employers in four of the West’s industry sectors report considerably weaker labor markets in comparison with the second quarter of 2020: construction, financial activities, other services and wholesale & retail trade.

Outlooks decline sharply in five of the West’s industry sectors when compared with the previous quarter: government, leisure & hospitality, durable goods manufacturing, professional & business services and transportation & utilities. Regionally, Fresno is among the metro areas that Manpower predicts will see double-digit employment growth. Manpower puts Fresno at 14 percent, along with the Buffalo, Saint Louis and Tampa metros. Sacramento is predicted to see an 11 percent growth, while Stockton may see employment grow by 7 percent in the third quarter, the report says. The only other Central Valley metro included in Manpower’s look at the 100 largest metros in the U.S. – Bakersfield – is predicted to have a net loss of jobs of 7 percent, one of the worst showings in the country, exceeded only by the Dallas and Miami metros.

Employers were also asked when they expect hiring to return to pre-COVID-19 levels. An optimistic 60 percent said before the end of 2020, with many expecting a return before the end of summer. Employers in education, construction and government expect the shortest COVID19 hiring impact while those in the professional sector including law firms, accountants and consultants are most uncertain. “The past weeks and months have seen the labor market transform overnight, with many industries halting hiring instantly, while others including healthcare, ecommerce and logistics saw immediate growth,” says Becky Frankiewicz, president of ManpowerGroup North America.

“These numbers reveal the depth of the impact this crisis has had on hiring intentions across our country, yet we are beginning to see very early signs for cautious optimism, ” Ms. Frankiewicz says. “As states open up essential roles remain in demand, as well as tech skills including software & app developers, and even new roles like temperature checkers and contact tracers. It is encouraging to see so many employers predict a return to pre-pandemic hiring though we must remember any signs of recovery are fragile. Now is the time for everyone to join together to rebuild confidence and create opportunities for everyone as America gets safely back to work.”

https://files.constantcontact.com/2cb20f61601/038d70ef-ff28-4b8d-9196-19442feae7e2.pdf

By Faughn Economy • New Developments • Workforce 0 Comments

New Patterson manufacturing facility to fill jobs, boost economy

BY KRISTIN LAM

A technology company expects to hire 250 workers to run new Patterson facilities scheduled to open by the end of this year.

The full-time openings will include construction, sales, engineering and architecture jobs, said John Rowland, President and Co-founder of S²A Modular, a sustainable building company. S²A Modular plans to begin construction in July, Rowland said, creating a Patterson manufacturing factory where workers will build high-tech single family homes, apartments and hotels. The site plans shows the company will take up 1.15 million square feet along Park Center Drive, directly across the street from the Amazon Fulfillment Center. The addition to Patterson’s industrial area could boost the regional economy by $85 million, according to an analysis by Opportunity Stanislaus, which helped bring S²A Modular to the county. The business got its permit approved May 14, Rowland said, about four months after Opportunity Stainslaus CEO David White pitched potential locations to executives. “In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, this announcement couldn’t have come at a better time,” White said in a city of Patterson press release.

HOW WILL THE BUSINESS BOOST STANISLAUS COUNTY’S ECONOMY?

The estimated impact of $85 million accounts for the time it takes to build the facility and the first year 250 people are employed, April Henderson Potter, director of market research, said in an email. The total in the Opportunity Stanislaus analysis includes employee compensation and construction costs, as well as taxes such as sales tax, personal income tax and taxes on production and imports.

Demand and business in other industries may also increase, Henderson Potter said, as workers spend their income on local housing, restaurants and medical services. Beyond new employees, Rowland said S²A Modular will also source local delivery firms. “The impact reaches much further than just within the factory,” Rowland said. “It really spreads out into the community and even the surrounding communities that we do work in.”

The company has already hired three people to staff the Patterson facilities, but when mass hiring will begin has yet to be announced.

WHAT IS S²A MODULAR?

Founded in 2018, the company headquartered in Palo Alto manufactures smart, sustainable residential and commercial buildings. It constructs buildings with solar panels, battery storage and energy management systems, allowing home or building owners to disconnect from utility company power grids and gas lines. S²A Modular buildings are custom-made in factories instead of on-site. In addition to the Patterson facility, another factory is being built in Hemet in Southern California.

The company is the latest to move into the business park in western Stanislaus County, which has easy access to Interstate 5. Companies that added distribution centers to the area in the past 10 years or so include Amazon, Restoration Hardware and Grainger.

http://modbee.com/news/business/article242932481.html