“When I see and talk to our farmers, they’re perfectly happy. It’s not a small change we have seen; it’s an enormous change the whole community has seen,” said Mandy Correa, Quality Manager at POET Bioprocessing – Obion.
Every bioethanol plant has a story shaped by the people who built it, the farmers who supply it, and the team members who keep it running every day. In Obion, Tennessee, that story spans nearly two decades.
The facility has long been supported by a dedicated local team and loyal farmers. Like many industrial operations, it also faced periods where aging equipment and limited resources made daily operations more challenging. But the strong foundation built over the years never disappeared — it simply needed renewed investment and support.
Today, under POET’s ownership, that foundation is being strengthened, bringing new reliability to the plant and renewed confidence to the farmers and community who depend on it.
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A new chapter
In September 2025, POET acquired the Obion facility, which has a production capacity of 120 million gallons of bioethanol per year, from Green Plains Renewable Energy. Commissioned in 2008, the facility also produces corn fermented protein, complementing POET’s portfolio of animal feed ingredients alongside DDGS and distillers corn oil.
The acquisition expanded POET’s network to 35 bioprocessing facilities across nine states, bringing the company’s total annual bioethanol production capacity to more than 3.1 billion gallons. The Obion location also strengthens POET’s reach into southeastern markets for bioethanol and bioproducts while diversifying the company’s corn draw.
“Obion is a strong facility with a talented team and long-standing relationships with local farmers,” said Jeff Lautt, POET COO and President. “Bringing the plant into the POET network underscores our confidence in the future of biofuels and American agriculture. It has allowed us to expand our reach and produce even more high-quality biofuels and bioproducts for the markets we serve.”
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Built on experience
After POET took over, the 76-person team continued to focus on what they do best: working together safely and efficiently.
Many pieces of equipment have been repaired or upgraded, and new communication systems have been put in place. Local farmers have taken notice.
“We have a text messaging system now so that the farmers can get notified if something is down, so they don’t come down and waste their time,” said Correa.
And inside the plant, morale has improved, too.
“A big thing for us is that Obion is a plant full of working managers,” said Allan Dotson, General Manager. “We don’t sit in our offices; our team sees us. As the general manager, I turn wrenches, I shovel corn off the ground, whatever needs to get done, we’re all here as one.”
Many of the team members at Obion have been there since day one, including Dotson, who was one of the original four shift supervisors when the plant opened in 2008. His plant manager, Shaun Bailey, has also been there from the start, and Correa celebrates 13 years at Obion this year.
“We have a lot of tenure and a lot of knowledge on our site,” said Dotson.
That combination of experience and trusted relationships has built a strong foundation for the plant’s success. They just needed the organizational investment to back it.
One POET Team
Both Dotson and Correa note that POET has come into this new relationship looking for ways to provide support.
“You can tell they respect the people who work at the plant,” said Correa. “Allan and I were just up at the corporate office, and you get the sense that the people at corporate understand that the people at the plants are the ones making these products, and they’re looking to help you out.”
That kind of support reinforces the “One POET Team” concept, which is a concept the Obion plant has embraced amongst its own team for years.
“Everybody who’s here does things every day that are not part of their job. We just do what we do because we know it’s important. There’s nobody who isn’t going to help you out. I help you, you help me. It’s a two-way relationship,” Correa said.
Now, with the plant running more reliably, the Obion team can set maintenance concerns aside and look ahead to expansion projects and new opportunities that will improve the facility even further. Perhaps just as important, they’re focused on improving visibility and engagement with the community.
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Allan Dotson, Shaun Bailey, & Mandy Correa
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Investing beyond the plant
For Correa, that’s an area where POET’s involvement stands out. The Obion plant, which has always been known as a local grain processor, is now part of local conversations for a different reason.
“POET offers the Never Satisfied Scholarship, and I actually just reached out to our local high school about it,” Correa said. “People are starting to get to know us now, so we’re excited to get the word out about the scholarship.”
Correa, who worked as a preschool teacher before coming to the plant, also appreciates the chance to return to schools and share what a career in bioprocessing can look like.
“We get to go out into the schools and talk to them about what we do at the plant and what our job entails,” she said. “As a former teacher, I love getting back in the schools, and that’s something we weren’t doing before.”
Dotson adds that the team has always valued community involvement, even when it wasn’t feasible.
“In the past, we had been reaching out to the community, sponsoring baseball teams, that kind of thing, but in recent years, we had gotten a bit limited in what we could do. Being involved locally has always mattered to this team. You’ve got to have the back of your community,” said Dotson.
“It’s about being a good steward of your community — for example, the local volunteer fire department was down to one battery running four pieces of equipment, and we were recently able to purchase several batteries for them. That’s a big thing for a small town, and we look forward to doing more in the future,” he said.
Moving forward together
Dotson says he’s also noticed something else changing in town.
“You see team members wearing POET-branded gear around town now, which speaks volumes to their support for the plant and the company,” he said.
In a small town like Obion, those positive connections matter. For the team, being able to show up for their neighbors is a sign that the plant is moving in the right direction — efficiently, safely, and together.
