ST. LOUIS, November 24, 2008 - The Missouri New Markets Development program is responsible for a new round of financing for two "green" businesses in rural Missouri. Carbolytic Materials Co. in Maryville and Producers' Choice Soy Energy, LLC in Moberly have received a total of $21.9 million in financing from Advantage Capital Partners. The funding was made possible through state and federal tax programs designed to stimulate growth in underserved communities.

Carbolytic Materials Co., the first company to successfully commercialize a carbon black alternative suitable for industrial use from scrap tires, has received $12.4 million of state and federal New Markets funding, as part of a total $16.5 million project financing. The company uses its licensed technology to create ApexCM", a lower cost, environmentally friendly alternative to carbon black that is extracted from existing rubber products.

"In these tough economic times, it is critical that we have the tools like Missouri New Markets to support small business development and job creation," said Lee Langerock, executive director for Nodaway County Economic Development. "The Missouri New Markets initiative prioritized by the Missouri General Assembly is creating a positive impact in rural areas as well as the state's major cities.  We're especially pleased to have this investment in the Maryville community."

"Despite the startup, project-finance nature of the company, Advantage Capital was able to provide a very high percentage of the total funding needed, which filled a financing gap and enabled the project to move forward," said Jeremy Degenhart, senior vice president at Advantage Capital. "This level of financing simply would not have been possible, for any lender, without the benefit of the Missouri New Markets Development Program."

Carbolytic will use the funds to build its Maryville manufacturing facility where it will process more than 15,000 tons of used tires annually to create Apex CM, which can be used for hoses, gaskets, belts, roofing material, plastic piping, sheeting plastic and more. The facility will create at least 21 new permanent jobs, with salaries that are above county average, and an additional 25 construction jobs. Carbolytic recently began construction of the new facility and celebrated with a groundbreaking event on Thursday, November 6. The manufacturing plant is expected to be completed by June 2009.

"Carbolytic Materials is developing carbon black technologies that will have a positive impact on the economy and environment," said Ray Riek, CEO of Carbolytic Materials. "Our recycled carbon black product singlehandedly reduces the landfill use of tires, dependency on foreign oil, and CO2 emissions."

In another direction towards "green" jobs, Missouri's New Markets Development program was instrumental in providing a $9.5 million construction loan to Producers' Choice Soy Energy, LLC as part of a $17 million total alternative energy project. The funding from Advantage Capital will be used to support the construction and operational needs of a soybean processing plant and a biodiesel production facility in Moberly, Mo.

"I'm proud to have supported the New Markets program because it is helping to create jobs and economic growth in our community," said Rep. Therese Sander, who represents the Moberly area.

"The demand for biodiesel is growing as it is a renewable fuel that will have a substantial impact on our nation's energy independence," Louis Dubuque, managing director at Advantage Capital added. "This investment will stimulate economic growth in rural Missouri with new state-of-the-art facilities."

The soybean crush will provide up to 250 tons of soybeans daily for biodiesel conversion, as well as 65,000 tons of extruded soybean meal each year. Other byproducts such as glycerin and soybean hulls will be sold primarily in Missouri. When fully operational, the biodiesel plant will produce five million gallons of biodiesel annually in its initial phase. Site construction is currently underway and the new facilities are expected to open in early 2009.