WWE History Key Points

• Western Wisconsin formed in 2003 to develop and operate a dry-grind ethanol plant
• Western Wisconsin is owned and directed by four LLC partners, including:
  

  • Western Wisconsin Renewable Energy Co-op
  • Capitaline Advisors LLC
  • Fagen Inc.
  • Indeck Energy Services Inc.
  • Murex N.A.

• Western Wisconsin Renewable Energy Cooperative is the majority owner of Western Wisconsin and is made up of over 500 local farmers and investors who deliver grain to the facility
• Construction essentially completed and the plant started in September of 2006

Board of Directors

Paul Harrison, President

Paul owns and operates Prairie View Farm, a 500 acre cash grain enterprise. Paul is an avid proponent of no-till. Paul has served on the president of the board of directors for the North Central Soybean Research Program, president of the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board, and chair of the Agribusiness Council of the Greater Menomonie Area Chamber of Commerce.

Michael Nelson, Vice President

Michael is the fifth generation raised on the family farm in the town of Sand Creek with his two younger sisters. His wife Kelly Esterby is a graphic designer for Target Corporation. They have two children - Zoe, 3 and Noah, 1.

He attended UW-River Falls majoring in Ag Engineering Technology. While there, he became a member of Delta Theta Sigma and now is currently the alumni president. After milking cows through college he took a job with Schottler Pumping upon graduation in 1993. He was involved with the design, manufacturing and operation of manure handling equipment over a four state area.

Michael then went onto Farmers Cooperative in Baldwin, working in the agronomy department. Farmers merged and moved to New Richmond where they became Precision Ag. He started farming small acreage after that and is currently running about 1,700 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and cattle with his Dad, Kenny, in the northeast corner of Dunn County.

Michael feels that this is an exciting time in the ethanol industry and farming in general.

Ray Dreger, Secretary/Treasurer

Ray is the secretary and treasurer of the Co-op. He operates a 420-acre crop farm and is CEO of Seeds & Stuff Farm Market in Colfax, Wisconsin. He is a board member of Dairyland Power Cooperative and Secretary/Treasurer of Dunn Energy Board of Directors. Ray is a certified Professional Agronomist and Certified Crop Advisor and holds a MS in Agronomy and Plant Genetics from the University of Minnesota.

Dick Bauer, Director

Richard farms 760 acres in Pepin County, growing corn and soybeans, rye and hay. He has served on the board of directors of the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board, Pepin County Human Services, and Farm Credit Services. Richard has served on the school board of his local parish school and was selected the Pepin County Farm Management Club Outstanding Farmer of the Year for 2001.

Nick Bowdish, Director

Nick became involved with the ethanol industry as an investor in locally owned plants and later joined the project development team at Fagen Incorporated. Nick works with both operating and development stage projects in the ethanol, power, wind, and industrial process industries. Nick grew up in the grain industry with several years of experience at a privately owned grain elevator in south central Wisconsin. Nick has education in business and economics and a Bachelor's degree in Agricultural Business Management from The University of Wisconsin - Madison. Nick was born and raised in the agricultural community of Monroe, Wisconsin.

Luther Grohn, Director

Luther has farmed since 1967, and currently raises crops on 2,500 acres. He spent 12 years on the Elk Mound School Board, including serving as the board's treasurer. He holds a BS in Science and Agriculture from the UW-River Falls.

Lawrence Lagowski, Director

Mr. Lagowski serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Indeck Energy Services, Inc.

Gordon Ommen, Director

Gordon serves as Principal for Capitaline Advisors, which he founded in 2002. Capitaline Advisors is a private equity investment management firm specializing in renewable energy investments. In addition to a proven track record as an entrepreneur and leader in the renewable energy industry, he has more than 25 years of experience in banking, investing, and building and managing successful businesses.

In 2004, Gordon, Capitaline, and a group of investors launched US BioEnergy Corporation, a producer and marketer of ethanol and distillers grains. He became CEO and Chairman of the Board in December 2005. One year later, US BioEnergy launched a successful IPO trading on the NASDAQ Global Market. Gordon is also the founder and CEO of JetE, LLC, a St. Paul based advanced biofuels company founded in 2008.

Gordon was named a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2007. He holds a Bachelor's Degree and a Master's Degree in Economics from South Dakota State University, where he has served as an adjunct Professor of Economics. He is a frequent speaker at business and academic forums on biofuels and sits on several corporate boards.

He grew up on a farm in eastern South Dakota where he still enjoys returning to hunt and fish. Gordon and his wife Jerilynn live in White Bear Lake, MN, and have two grown children.

Robert Wright, Director

Mr. Wright has served as the president, chief executive officer and a principal shareholder of Murex N.A. since May 1992. Murex is a marketer of gasoline "blendstocks," such as fuel grade Ethanol, MTBE, Toluene, Methanol and Alkylate, to independent and major refiners in the United States. Mr. Wright is a graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in chemical engineering and the University of Toledo with a masters in business administration.