EVANSVILLE-Jeff Pieterick and Mike Robinson had just pitched their idea of building Wisconsin's largest biodiesel plant to the city of Evansville.
At the time of the meeting less than a year ago, officials from North Prairie Productions hadn't settled on Evansville as the site for their $42 million biodiesel plant, but they had met with Landmark Services Cooperative officials.
After the meeting, the Landmark officials invited Pieterick and Robinson out for a bite to eat.
As the waitress put their drinks down on the table at a local bar, she told the group: "The owner says they're on him. Welcome to Evansville."
"This is really pretty remarkable," Pieterick told a group of nearly 60 chamber of commerce members at an informational luncheon Thursday at the Evansville Country Club.
"It's a story that just keeps coming back to me, and it's really indicative of how this whole thing has gone," he said.
Community support made an impression, he said, and the support continues. Pieterick announced that more than 750 Wisconsin residents have committed more than $25 million to the project.
That means it's time for a groundbreaking.
Gov. Jim Doyle will join North Prairie Productions to break ground on the biodiesel plant at 9:30 a.m. Monday, March 26, at the County M site just south of Highway 14.
It was just two years ago in April that the idea to build the plant was first discussed.
"It's pretty remarkable to think of how far it's come in that amount of time," said Pieterick, who is the company's vice president.
Mayor Sandy Decker echoed those remarks.
The past year has been a whirlwind of meetings, paperwork and approvals for North Prairie and the city, she said.
Now, nearly all of the city's approvals are in place, and city leaders are excited about the much-desired industrial growth on the east side.
Momentum from the development helped spark planning for the city's first Soybean Celebration week, to be held Oct. 15-20.
The chamber will sponsor educational activities in the schools during the week, while a soybean festival that Saturday will bring the community together to learn about the crop that's bringing so much attention to the city.
