Maple Park, Ill.-Hintzsche Fertilizer Inc. officials say that Lee County planners need to get the idea out of their heads about Hintzsche building an anhydrous ammonia plant on Interstate 39 interchange property near Paw Paw. “They keep talking about an ammonia facility, which it isn’t,” John Hintzsche told Green Markets. “Nobody wants ammonia production in their backyard. We know this.” Still, there are those with the county board who aren’t sure about the Hintzsche plans and have put the matter off for at least another month while they consider the future of the area, which now is mostly farmland but is expected soon to see rapid commercial development. Just what kind of development is the issue, according to those who consider that industry development doesn’t fit in with the county’s long-term vision. Hintzsche – whose family-owned company is involved in agronomy and fertilizer, seed, petroleum and other businesses, with locations in Cortland, Kirkland, Minooka, Troxol, and Waterman – sees it as an ideal spot in the center of its Illinois agriculture markets. He said plans call for a retail farm center with a storage and distribution hub that could handle 15,000 tons of dry MAP, potash, urea, and other fertilizer lines.
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