Plants remain closed in Cedar Rapids

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June 17, 2008

Plants remain closed in Cedar Rapids

By DAN PILLER
dpiller@dmreg. com

Cedar Rapids' mainstay grain milling operations continued to be
shuttered by the floodwaters Monday as Archer Daniels Midland, Penford,
Quaker Oats and Cargill all reported their operations closed with no
indication when they would reopen.

The Cedar Rapids General Mills plant, which closed last week, reopened
Monday with what spokeswoman Heidi Geller called "limited production."
Those companies combined employ more than almost 3,000 workers making
products as familiar as Cheerios and Quaker Oatmeal and have solidified
Cedar Rapids' image as Iowa's premier grain milling center and cereal
maker. The ADM and Penford operations also make ethanol.

But on Monday, the plants were closed as inspectors assessed structural
damage and the effects of possible chemical spills.

None of the companies would speculate on when they might reopen. "We are
just waiting for the waters to recede," Cargill spokeswoman Liz Pierce
said.

Pierce said that while Cargill's corn milling plant was closed due to
flooding, its soybean processing plant was dry but without electricity.

ADM spokesman David Weintraub said, "The ADM corn processing facility at
Cedar Rapids is not operational because of local water use constraints.

"Throughout our operations in the Midwest, we are experiencing
constrained logistics because of the closure of railways, roadways and
the upper Mississippi River. The flexibility offered by our
transportation network is helping us overcome some of those limitations. "
Weintraub said ADM would meet customer needs from production at other
facilities.

The rail-dependent grain plants face short-term uncertainties about their
train service. Union Pacific Railroad said Monday that while much of its
main east-west line across Iowa has been reopened, the line was still
closed at Cedar Rapids.

The Iowa Interstate and Iowa Northern railroads, both of which serve
Cedar Rapids, have had to close their operations in the area because of
flooding. Cedar Rapids' largest employer, Rockwell Collins, is located
north of the city's downtown and away from the flooded Cedar River. But
Rockwell Collins spokeswoman Pam Tvrdy said some of the company's 8,600
workers were unable to make it to their jobs Monday because of flooding
issues at their homes.

The aerospace avionics and communications company on Monday established a
$2 million relief fund to aid recovery.

"This catastrophic event has affected the lives of nearly everyone in the
Cedar Rapids and Iowa City area," said Rockwell Collins chairman Clay
Jones. "We hope these actions will help our communities begin the
recovery and renewal process." Another large area employer, Amana
Refrigeration, located about 15 miles from downtown Cedar Rapids in
Middle Amana, reported that it still was open Monday. The Amana plant
employs about 2,200 workers.

Other manufacturers such as Schneider Electric, Cryovac and PMX
Industries were open Monday.