ODEBOLT — Corn Board Manufacturing Inc. will build a new plant this year near Odebolt in Sac County, Lane Segerstrom, the company’s founder and chief executive officer, announced recently.

The plant will be designed to manufacture pallets and other products made of Cornboard, its pressed, engineered wood alternative made using corn stover, for use in the food and beverage and apparel industries, among others.

The plant will be approximately 55,000 square feet in size and capable of producing over 10mm square feet of board per year.

Segerstrom estimates that between 30 and 50 local jobs will be created.

The company plans to construct multiple plants throughout the state in future years.

The announcement was made at an event co-hosted by Landus Cooperative and Cornboard in honor of the United States Department of Agriculture’s first annual National Biobased Products Day. A number of agriculture industry officials spoke at the event which highlighted the importance of biobased products to Iowa’s economy and their role in its future success.

Those speaking at the event included: Theresa Greenfield, state director, USDA Rural Development; Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig; Anna Lensing, Iowa Economic Development Authority; Matt Russell, state executive director, USDA Farm Service Agency; Eric Cochran, Iowa State University, co-founder and technical advisor Soylei Innovations; David Ertl, director of production technology, Iowa Corn; and Segerstrom.