Officials offer assistance for AMPI

Gutknecht pledges support for recovery

By KEVIN SWEENEY

Journal Editor

NEW ULM -- Federal and state officials traveled to New Ulm Friday to view the damages at the Associated Milk Producers, Inc. butter plant and pledge their help in helping the cooperative recover from the fire that destroyed part of the plant Wednesday.

First District Rep. Gil Gutknecht, accompanied by Steve Wenzel, Minnesota director of the US Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, brought assurances to AMPI officers and employees that the federal government would do whatever it could to help AMPI recover and rebuild the plant in New Ulm.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty flew into town later in the day with similar assurances.

Grateful AMPI officials told the visitors that right now, a little more than a day after the fire, they are still assessing the damages, seeing how much of the building and its operations are salvageable.

And the damage, bad as it is, is not as dire as some early reports indicated, said AMPI General Manager Mark Furth. He cited some headlines and news reports that indicated the plant had burned to the ground, and that the three million pounds of butter stored in the plant had melted and flown into the Minnesota River. The truth is that parts of the plant, like the milk receiving station and the laboratory, were untouched by the fire.

The fire was contained in the northwest corner of the plant. Other parts of the plant are still standing, and damage to the butter producing equipment is being assessed. Two large storage coolers were destroyed, and part of the three million pounds of butter were burned or melted, but not all of it. Most of the butter that melted remained in the plant and has solidified there. Some that flowed down the street was quickly caught in sand dikes built by the New Ulm Street Department, or solidified in the cold air. Some did get into the Minnesota River, but the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency feels it will present no serious threat to the environment.

Best of all, no one was injured in the fire.

As the officials visited the plant Friday, insurance investigators and engineers were working with AMPI staff to try to determine the cause of the fire. Plant manager Bill Swan said that will determine who will pay for what damages.

Furth told the visitors over lunch that that AMPi's "real interest is rebuilding. We have every incentive to make this work, and to make this work in New Ulm."

AMPI is concerned for its workforce, said Furth. About 130 of the 180 workers in the plant are directly affected by the fire. Many could be called in for cleanup work, though insurance companies may call for special contractors or companies to do some of that work.

Furth said maintaining the workforce is as important as repairing the building. It would take a long time and a big investment to replace them, he said.

The company also wants to maintain its customer base. Furth said the AMPI marketing department has been working since the morning after the fire to contact other butter producers, usually competitors in the marketplace, to find unused production capacity. Some competitors have even called to see what assistance they could offer, said Furth.

Gutknecht said if any government agency could provide assistance, and provide it relatively quickly, it would be USDA, Rural Development.

Wenzel, who was accompanied by Robyn Holdorf, a business programs specialist on his staff, and Scott Knutson, area director of the Marshall region for USDA Rural Development, said he "would leave no stone unturned" to find what loan or grant programs would be available to AMPI.

USDA can provide guaranteed and low interest loans for business expansion and and new business development, and grants for value-added product development, he said.

Rep. Brad Finstad (R-New Ulm) and Sen. Dennis Frederickson (R-New Ulm) also promised assistance in finding what state programs might be available.

Finstad had been in contact with Gov. Tim Pawlenty's office to see whether AMPI could be included in one of the local Job Opportunity Business Zones (JOBZ), or whether special legislation might be needed to change the boundaries. The governor's staff is also researching whether AMPI employees might be eligible for displaced employee benefits, usually paid to employees of plants that are closing.

"We know it's too early to know all that needs to be done," said Gutknecht. But he wanted AMPI and New Ulm to know that government agencies will be ready to assist wherever possible when needed.

Kevin Sweeney can be e-mailed at editor@nujournal.com