Published: January 31, 2008 11:13 am            

Family-owned bio-fuels business heats up in short existence

Originally published in the January 25, 2008, print edition.

Business for Eagle Bio-Fuels, a family-owned company that makes corn and corn fuel blends, is really heating up.

“We started the business in July of 2006, and we’ve already tripled our customer base,” said Sue Kruger, CEO of Eagle Bio-Fuels. “We’re in the process of trying to take our company national.”

According to the company’s press release, the corn is mixed with hardwood, softwood and agra pellets. The pellets are blended in ratios of 75/25, 50/50 and 25/75. Heat ranges from 7,400 to 8,400 British thermal units and 0.6 to 1 percent ash depending upon the ingredients mixed with the corn.

Customers report that pellet and corn blends burn longer than straight biomass pellets and provide more heat than burning straight corn as well as easier stove and furnace maintenance.

“We have a clean, quality product with minimal dust,” Kruger said. At some of the fireplace stores where Eagle Bio-Fuels is sold, there are samples available for customers to try. Kruger advises buying a few bags to try it out before buying in bulk, because every stove burns differently.

Sue and her husband, Tom, had been crop farmers near Plainview for several years before beginning this business.

“I wanted to do this for a business about a year before we started,” Kruger said. “We had a couple stove dealers ask us to look into it.”

So the Krugers did a trade show in the summer of 2006, and the rest fell into place. But it’s been a lot of hard work, too. In five months, Kruger said she drove 20,000 miles visiting hearth dealers. This year, she is training in a salesperson so that she’ll be able to spend more time near home.

“Our farm employs four full-time people year round,” Kruger said. During the off-season for field work, Eagle Bio-Fuels keeps the employees busy. “We’re very proud of the families that are with us.”

In addition to the outside help, Kruger’s two sons, Mitchell, 14, and Matt, 11, are eager to help. “They help with bagging and loading up for customers,” Kruger said. “They’re interested in agriculture, and I’m hoping they’ll stay interested.”

Kruger said the company has its own semis, a bulk truck and an enclosed trailer for delivery. In addition to selling from Plainview, there are warehouses in Moorhead and Ellsworth, Wis., that also do delivery.

“We dolly packages right into people’s garages,” she said. “It makes it really convenient for people.” Most of the company’s customers are hearth stores and residential users, but Kruger said she is venturing into bulk biomass contracts with municipalities or schools as well.

On Jan. 1, Eagle Bio-Fuels began selling to Pelletsales.com, the nation’s leading independent distributor of pellet fuels.

One thing Kruger wishes she could change about the business is the sales tax. “It really bothers me that I have to pay sales tax, while there is no tax on LP or fuel oil. It doesn’t provide incentive for people to get into this business.”

        

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