Albion, Ind.-Novozymes Biologicals Inc., operators of an organic fertilizer plant that has occupied the same location here for years, is going to have to move within the next year, Nobel County officials have decided. Novozymes had requested that its variance be renewed, but was turned down by the county’s board of zoning appeals. “This was not unexpected, and we have another year to make our decisions,” John Sedivy, director of business development for Novozymes at Salem, Va., told Green Markets. “We don’t anticipate any disruption, and (the move) will give us an opportunity to upgrade our technology.” According to the local press, the chief complaints from neighbors about the operation of the specialty fertilizer manufacturer were truck traffic and dust from the plant, and that the company had promised to move sometime ago. Novozymes reportedly owns land in the southern part of the county, but there was no indication the move would be there, within the county or elsewhere. Sedivy declined to talk about production volumes, and would say only that the plant is a fair-sized operation that produces at least one line of Novozymes microbic-enhanced organic fertilizers, using bone meal as one of the nutrient sources. The plant, which sells to distributors for home and garden and for some agricultural use, is part of Roots Inc., which was acquired by Novozymes Biologicals, a unit of the worldwide biotech company Novozymes.
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