Iowa ethanol plants file bankruptcy

Chicago Tribune
By DAN PILLER
The Des Moines Register
1:26 p.m. CST, December 21, 2009

DES MOINES, Iowa - Hawkeye Energy on Monday put its ethanol plants at Iowa Falls and Fairbank into bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., essentially turning over the operations to a group of banks led by Credit Suisse.

The Iowa Falls and Fairbank plants, each of which employs about 45 workers, will continue to operate under the current management, Hawkeye president Bruce Rastetter said. They also will continue to buy corn and will honor forward contracts for purchases of corn from farmers.

Hawkeye's plants at Menlo and Shell Rock are not affected by the filing, Rastetter said.

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