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TechTrends e-Newsletter I February 2003 Page 3 of 6 <br /> Technology business news from around Minnesota. <br /> • Fibrominn, the Minnesota subsidiary of British company Fibrowatt LLC, is expected <br /> to begin construction this spring on a poultry litter-fired power plant that will be <br /> located in an industrial park on the northwest edge of Benson. The plant will <br /> consume up to 500,000 tons of turkey litter, alfalfa stems, and other material to <br /> create 50 megawatts of renewable energy annually. Construction of the $100 <br /> million facility is expected to take about two years. <br /> Robert Edwards, CEO of Duluth-based Minnesota Power and executive vice <br /> president of its parent company, Allete Inc., announced that he will retire at the end <br /> of May. Donald Shippar, Minnesota Power's president and chief operating officer, will <br /> take over Allete's energy services businesses. <br /> McNeilus Windfarm, a new wind-based energy farm, is under development near <br /> Dodge Center. The project is headed by Garwin McNeilus, former owner of McNeilus <br /> Mfg., also of Dodge Center. The farm features 10 900-kilowatt wind turbines, with <br /> more planned for the future. <br /> Mankato-based communications provider HickoryTech Corp. recently announced <br /> that its board of directors elected Myrita P. Craig to serve as board chairman. She <br /> succeeds Robert D. Alton Jr., who retired as company CEO in 2002. <br /> Granite Falls Community Ethanol Plant LLC recently announced that it has begun an <br /> initial public offering of membership units for a proposed ethanol plant that will be <br /> built near Granite Falls, Minn. <br /> • The Stora Enso Paper Mill in Duluth recently achieved ISO 9001 certification for its <br /> Quality Management System and ISO 14001 certification for its Environmental <br /> Management System. <br /> TEC Interface Systems, a Waite Park-based prosthetics manufacturer, recently was <br /> purchased by Otto Bock Health Care, a German prosthetics distributor and <br /> manufacturer that has its U.S. headquarters in Plymouth. <br /> IBM recently announced that IBM Rochester will be the first division to produce the <br /> company's iSeries line, which offers extra computing power on a pay-as-you-go <br /> method. The new computers will be available for shipment Feb. 21. <br /> A preliminary study sponsored by North Dakota State University's Research and <br /> Technology Park concluded that the Fargo-Moorhead area could support a <br /> technology-based business incubator, according to two consultants studying the <br /> possibility. The second phase of the study will continue in March. <br /> JMW Enterprises Inc., a Rushford-based firm that acquires and refurbishes used <br /> electronic assembly equipment, recently expanded its facility in the city's downtown <br /> area. The company now occupies 12,000 square feet of space. <br /> The Chippewa Valley Ethanol Co. (CVEC) in Benson is on track to complete an <br /> expansion in April 2003 that the firm says will help it produce up to 49.5 million <br /> • gallons of ethanol annually-more than double its current production. The company <br /> also announced that one of its subsidiaries, Glacial Grain Spirits, has formed of <br /> partnership with New York City-based Infinite Spirits Inc. to produce a line of <br /> ultrapremium vodka. <br /> http://www.minnesotatechnology.org/publications/techtrends/2003/February/printVersion.asp 3/5/2003 <br />