$3B Nitrogen Fertilizer Production Plant Opens in Iowa

Representatives from the Iowa Fertilizer Company (IFC) held a ribbon cutting ceremony with local and state officials to mark the start of production of its new, $3 billion nitrate fertilizer plant in Wever, IA, the company announced in an April 20 press release.

Dubbing the project as “the first world-scale” greenfield nitrogen fertilizer facility constructed in the past 25 years, IFC expects to produce 1.5 to 2 million mt of products per year.

“The start of production at Iowa Fertilizer Company plant in Wever is a transformative moment for the agricultural industry,” said Nassef Sawiris, chief executive officer of the firm’s parent company OCI N.V., in a statement. “As one of the most innovative and efficient manufacturing plants in the nation, Iowa Fertilizer is leading the way in providing American farmers with the highest nitrogen-consuming acres globally, on the border between Iowa and Illinois, the number one and two corn-producing states in the nation, the site houses not only a premier production facility, but also an industry-leading distribution center.”

200 full-time workers are now employed at the facility in Wever. Government officials praised the company’s job creation efforts as the facility became operational.

“At the outset of the Iowa Fertilizer project, the unemployment rate in Lee County was the highest in the state at 8.0%. That is why my administration fought so hard to encourage the company to locate its new fertilizer plant in this great community. Today, the county’s unemployment is down nearly three points to 5.3%, providing a positive and meaningful impact on working families in the area,” Iowa Governor Terry Branstad said in the company’s release.

The site’s annual maintenance budget is slated at $25 million, as well as a $25 million annual payroll, IFC said.

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