FCStone to supply corn for Gevo's Luverne plant

FCStone Merchant Services is to originate and supply corn for Gevo's plant in Luverne, Minnesota after the two companies entered into an agreement.

Engaging FCStone to conduct Gevo's corn purchasing at Luverne is expected to free up more than $1 million (€900,000) of working capital, which has previously been tied up in corn inventory.

By leveraging FCStone's scale and corn buying expertise, Gevo expects to improve its corn purchasing capabilities by increasing the number of suppliers (farmers and elevators) from which it will buy corn, and by extending the duration of its forward corn purchasing commitments, which should enable Gevo to take advantage of lower corn price environments.

As part of this arrangement, Gevo will pay an origination fee for every bushel of corn it purchases from FCStone. FCStone will pay Gevo an annual fee for leasing the corn storage bins at the Luverne plant.

FCStone is a division of INTL FCStone and a leader in providing specialised financial services in commodities, securities, global payments, foreign exchange and other markets to its clients. It utilises origination tools to assist commercial organisations in sourcing their grain needs. FCStone designs new programmes to procure corn by working closely with commercial grain elevators, livestock feeders and ethanol plants, with the goal of enhancing margins.