Since President Bush signed an energy bill encouraging greater use of ethanol as an ecologically sound fuel additive, ethanol plant construction has skyrocketed. Thirty-three plants are currently under construction, and eight of the 95 plants already in operation are being expanded, according to the Renewable Fuels Association.

The bulk of the boom is in the Midwest, which works well for Michael Anderzack of Anderzack-Pitzen Construction Inc. Located in Metamora, Ohio, this general/heavy contracting company serves customers in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. Recently they cleared 55 acres, built roads, did site preparation work, and installed underground utilities for a new ethanol plant in Coshocton, Ohio.

History Repeats Itself

TIC (The Industrial Co.) is the general contractor and project manager at the site. Anderzack-Pitzen worked with them on another ethanol project in Michigan, so were invited to bid on this job too. "We cleared about 40 acres around the site, and prepped another 15 acres for the site itself," says Anderzack. "We also trenched in about 5,000 feet to install temporary power."

Crews started moving dirt and building roads in June 2006. In January, they started putting underground utilities down. Anderzack says they'll be on and off the project through August.

Brutal Combination Of Working Conditions

Being in the Midwest, the biggest obstacle for Anderzack was weather, especially rain. "It was a big bowl of slop," says Anderzack. "We'd go from sand to gravel to silty clay. Part of the ground would be dry, but then it'd be muddy just a few feet away."

They also needed to cut through about 2 feet of frost and mud. "That's a brutal combination," says Dave Beard of Vermeer Sales & Service Inc., Findlay, Ohio. "Frost is hard, frozen ground that is impenetratable by anything except larger excavators or rock trenchers. While they could have plowed through with other equipment in drier, warmer conditions, the amount of frost — and then melting frost — required specialized equipment."

Anderzack rented a Vermeer T558 track trencher to handle the ground conditions. "When you combine 2 feet of frozen rocky ground with slippery, slimy, traction-reducing mud, the T558 track trencher was an affordable and practical choice," says Beard. "The Vermeer TEC 2000 electronic control system monitors operating conditions and lets the operator know real-time machine performance. Even in these adverse conditions, they got a manageable, uniform, clean trench and outstanding production."

Anderzack adds, "The machine performed quite well and really cut our time tremendously."

Crews trenched about 5,000 feet total at a depth of 4 feet, 18 inches wide. They used Kennametal T-1 teeth with a half-inch carbide insert. They trenched about 800 feet a day, moving around foundations, and in and out of tight areas. The displaced spoil was largely frozen gravel, which was used as premium fill because it is a good, compactable material.

The Facility

The Coshocton plant is owned by Altra Inc., a California-based developer of renewable fuel projects specifically focused on the production and sale of ethanol and biodiesel. Centrally located in the Appalachian agricultural belt, the Coshocton ethanol facility will leverage the region's corn production to produce ethanol, as well as the extensive dairy cow industry, to which Altra plans to sell distiller's grain, an ethanol byproduct.

When completed, the Coshocton ethanol plant capacity is expected to reach 60 million gallons per year, with full-scale ethanol production scheduled to start in October.