Sure, we also got competition in the form of mom and pops spinning their Ethanol Plant Syrups in the back enclosure off the boiler room. Best I can figure they take that result and either sell it as a livestock feed additive or mix it back into their DDGs as a branded specialty product. I have pictures in my mind of highly paid technicians, neglecting their regular duties, processing the home made residue by skimming the corn oil off holding tanks with two x fours. The SkunK's comical visions are apparently not that far off. "Originally we allowed it to separate in our syrup tank, . ." said one process engineer using a self-designed process in 1Q 07 DGQ. Some of the independent results are described as "animal feed grade corn oil". Oh how expensive the "inexpensive route" can be. . 
Here is the chart real size: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgzzx2hv_36kf36b3m6
First conclusion: Our big boy competition has not got a commercial COES up and running yet. The independents do, but in many cases it turns out animal feed quality corn oil. ICM will sell you equipment - so will crown iron works - but then where are the quality and production guarantees?
Many bio-diesel plants talk corn oil, but soon find out they cannot process it with standard equipment. GERS has 60,000 hours of commercial COES experience going to the spring of 2006 and that extracted corn oil has been made into biodiesel. Have we learned from that experience? You bet. We are almost three years down an experience trail our competitors are just beginning to walk on. The uncommitted market here is huge. The SkunK believes that virtually all Ethanol Producers will eventually extract corn oil in some fashion. The economics of the industry are pressing them to do it sooner rather than later. Greenshift could be extremely financially successful even with a competitor or two that has an operating commercial COES. Will we see the first competitor's system "this winter"? Maybe.
The SkunK has also found a newcomer to the corn oil extraction business after he built his chart above. FEC Solutions has sold only one unit that I can find. That was to LINCOLNWAY ENERGY, LLC who first ran it for six months on a trial basis starting in April 2008 . They now "expect" to produce 3000 tons of corn oil/year from their 50mmgy Ethanol plant. (This from a plant that is running about 8% over their ethanol rated capacity.) Depending how much this crude corn oil weights I figure that is between .7 and 1mmgy. That is between half to 2/3 of the results we "expect" to see from Greenshift. FEC Solutions then buys the oil for resale with a handling fee. In any case, even though we still do not have information Greenshift COES have run over a quarter at 1.5mmgy capacity, Greenshift has the big lead.
http://www.fecsolutions.com/index.htm
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First here is the progress of Verasun's Corn Oil Extraction Project.
http://www.ethanolproducer.com/article.jsp?article_id=4326
Good Hunting,
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