Minnesota Facts

Based in Wichita, Kan., Koch Industries, Inc. is one of the largest private companies in America according to Forbes magazine. It owns a diverse group of companies involved in refining and chemicals; process and pollution control equipment and technologies; minerals; fertilizers; polymers and fibers; commodity trading and services; and forest and consumer products. Koch companies have a presence in nearly 60 countries and employ about 70,000 people.

Companies in Minnesota

Flint Hills Resources, LLC, through its subsidiaries, is a leading refining and chemicals company. It markets products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, olefins, polymers and intermediate chemicals. It owns the Pine Bend Refinery in Rosemount. In 2007, the refinery completed a project that increased its crude oil processing capacity to about 320,000 barrels per day. A $350 million project, completed in 2006, allowed the refinery to produce ultra low-sulfur diesel fuels and convert diesel fuel to gasoline to meet market demand. It also manufactures asphalt, heating fuel and sulfur for fertilizer products at the refinery. The company’s refined products and asphalt terminals serve customers in Minnesota and the Midwest.

Koch Pipeline Company, L.P. operates pipelines that deliver crude oil to Minnesota refineries, as well as refined fuels to the Twin Cities, greater Minnesota and the upper Midwest. One pipeline supplies a large percentage of the jet fuel used at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.

Koch Nitrogen Company, LLC has two fertilizer terminals in Minnesota that provide fertilizer to customers in the upper Midwest. The company and its affiliates have the capability to manufacture, market and distribute more than 10 million metric tons of nitrogen products annually.

The C. Reiss Coal Company is a leading supplier of coal used to generate power. The company has a dock located in Duluth.

Georgia-Pacific Wood Products LLC has a plant in Duluth that manufactures building supplies, as well as a warehouse in Marshall and a sales office in Minneapolis. Georgia-Pacific LLC, based in Atlanta, and its subsidiaries have approximately 300 manufacturing facilities across North America, South America and Europe, ranging from large pulp, paper and tissue operations to gypsum plants, box plants and building products operations. The company’s building products manufacturing business has long been among the nation’s leading suppliers of building products to lumber and building materials dealers and large do-it-yourself warehouse retailers.

Safety and Environmental Commitment

Koch companies are committed to operating their businesses in a manner that protects the health and safety of their employees, the public and the environment. Koch companies’ safety performance is among the best in the industry, and Koch companies strive to protect the environment by reducing waste and increasing efficiency.

Flint Hills Resources’ terminals in Minnesota were among those recognized with the Platinum Safety Award from the International Liquid Terminals Association. The award recognizes member companies that have a strong commitment to continuous safety improvement. In 2009, the fuels and asphalt terminals extended their record of more than three years with no OSHA-recordable injuries and 11 years since the last lost-time injury.
Flint Hills Resources’ Pine Bend Refinery has received the Minnesota Conservation Award from Xcel Energy for saving 8.7 million kilowatt hours during 2006.
Koch Pipeline Company was named one of America’s Safest Companies by EHS Today magazine in 2008. The company has earned the Occupational Safety Award from the American Petroleum Institute, its highest honor, and the Occupational Industry Leader Award from the National Safety Council. The Southern Operations Group has earned VPP STAR certification, only the fourth pipeline group to do so. KPL employees have worked more than 6.3 million hours without a lost-time injury.
Flint Hills Resources’ Pine Bend Refinery earned the Minnesota Safety Council’s highest award, the Award of Honor, for exceptional safety accomplishments. The refinery has also earned the Gold and Merit safety awards from the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association for its safety record. In 2009, the refinery was certified as a MNSTAR worksite for the second time by the Minnesota Department of Labor, recognizing the company’s commitment to workplace safety. It has been a MNSTAR site since 2005.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency awarded Flint Hills Resources the Wastewater Operator Award for its outstanding wastewater treatment facility operation and management practices.
Flint Hills Resources has earned the Thoroughbred Chemical Safety Award from Norfolk Southern Corporation for safely transporting hazardous chemicals.
Koch Nitrogen Company has earned the Stewardship Award from Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company for three consecutive years and the Safe Handling Award from the Canadian National Railway Company.
Flint Hills Resources has emphasized refinery flaring reduction, which earned the company a Clean Air Award from the EPA in 2004. The company’s Minnesota refinery reduced emissions by 50 percent in the last 10 years, while also expanding production to meet the Midwest’s demand for transportation fuels.
Building upon its success in reducing flaring, Flint Hills Resources and the EPA completed a four-year collaborative effort to develop and share best practices aimed at reducing emissions caused by planned and unplanned process unit startups, shutdowns and malfunctions.

Community Commitment

Koch companies are committed to understanding the needs of the community, and participate in projects and activities that add value to their neighbors and improve the quality of life. Here are some examples:

Through the Georgia-Pacific Foundation, the company partners with many local and statewide organizations to improve the quality of life in communities where GP employees live and work. The GP Foundation focuses support in four key areas: education, enrichment of community, environment and entrepreneurship.

Flint Hills International Children's Festival at Ordway Center
Flint Hills Resources is the title sponsor of this festival that brings international artists to Ordway Center in St. Paul. The festival draws more than 40,000 people annually to enjoy performances and events geared for young people. The company received the Ordway Center Appreciation Award for its commitment to supporting the community.

Science Museum of Minnesota
Flint Hills Resources is a premier partner of the Science Museum. It supports the museum’s educational outreach programs, which bring Science Museum teachers to elementary schools in communities throughout Minnesota. The company sponsors field trips and overnight camp-ins at the museum for elementary students from schools in Greater Minnesota.

Pine Bend Bluffs Restoration
2009 marked the 10th anniversary of Flint Hills Resources’ collaboration with Friends of the Mississippi River and Great River Greening to restore the 1,300-acre Pine Bend Bluffs Natural Area. This area along the Mississippi River provides important habitat for millions of migratory songbirds and 40 percent of North American waterfowl and shorebirds. The site has received Wildlife Habitat Council certification and was nominated for WHC Corporate Habitat of the Year and Community Partner award in 2009. It has also earned the Minnesota Environmental Initiative Award for Natural Resource Protection, and has been designated as an area of outstanding biological diversity by the Minnesota Department of Resources.

Project Green Fleet
Flint Hills Resources supports Project Green Fleet, a collaborative effort involving businesses, government agencies and non-profit organizations to install pollution control equipment in school buses. The project has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a national model for improving air quality, and earned a Clean Air Excellence Award in the Community Action category.

Emergency Preparedness
Flint Hills Resources has been providing Dakota County fire and police a place to train since 2004. The company is refurbishing one of its buildings so that it can be used as a training facility for first responders. A donation to the Marshall volunteer fire department will purchase five sets of new protective gear. Flint Hills Resources operates an asphalt plant near Marshall.

DARTS
Dakota Area Resources and Transportation for Seniors - provides transportation to Dakota County seniors and persons with disabilities. Flint Hills Resources sponsors a DARTS bus and underwrites the organization's intergenerational mentoring program which focuses on math, science and reading skills. This program connects senior volunteers with elementary students in 14 Dakota County Schools.