Swedish biodiesel producer eyes Fayetteville plant
Posted on Thursday, October 2, 2008
A $ 13, 000 investment by the Fayetteville City Council may be paying off. Recently, the city contracted Per-Erik Persson to recruit Swedish companies to come to Fayetteville and set up shop. The latest prospect is a biodiesel fuel and equipment developer called Ageratec.
Company founders Gert and David Frykerås, father and son, opened up shop in Sweden in 1996. Since then the two have expanded their business to more than 60 locations in 20 countries, including four locations in the United States. David Frykerås said there’s a chance Fayetteville could be the fifth location.
In a presentation to the Fayetteville Economic Development Council Wednesday, David Frykerås said that he’s flown over Arkansas plenty of times but never thought of stopping there until he was notified of Fayetteville’s reputation on sustainable business practices.
The Frykerås’ business turns substances like animal fat, cooking and vegetable oils into biodiesel fuel. David Frykerås said the fuel is basically on par with normal diesel fuel. He said that Northwest Arkansas ’ proximity to large quantities of animal fat, such as chicken fat, and its large number of restaurants make it an ideal place for him to set up a location. He told the council that he was very impressed with the area compared to bigger metropolitan areas across the country and that a manufacturing plant in Fayetteville might be possible.
No deals have been sealed but David Frykerås promised that he’d be back to Fayetteville after a successful first visit.
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