Ethanol becomes big business for Tullahoma firmFriday, May 12,...

Ethanol becomes big business for Tullahoma firm
Friday, May 12, 2006
By Brian Mosely



Yes, it's a moonshine still, but it's perfectly legal to use for making ethanol. With gas prices so high, Dogwood Energy has been selling plenty of the stills and the blueprints to make them. (Photo courtesy Dogwood Energy)
(Photo courtesy Dogwood Energy)


TULLAHOMA -- The phone is ringing off the hook, the letters are pouring in and people are literally lined up outside the door.
What's causing all the fuss? Just a way to make filling up your gas tank a lot cheaper, that's all.

The activity at Dogwood Energy in Tullahoma has been non-stop after the small company received nationwide media attention from ABC News and Paul Harvey's radio reports about a unique, yet traditional product to this area: A do-it-yourself ethanol kit.

So what is this revolutionary device that will change how we fuel our vehicles?

It's an old fashioned moonshine still, but is perfectly legal to use for making fuel. All that's needed is a federal permit and a little poison added to the mix to make this white lightning undrinkable.

"It's a more efficient technology that's smaller and it comes out with a pure alcohol product," Bill Sasher, the company's president says, admitting that some of the national media can't resist using the moonshine angle in the story.

Sasher admits the reaction to their product is "a little crazy" but he isn't complaining. Business is booming, to say the least. Two things are apparently driving the interest, the high price of gasoline and the public's anger over it. The company's slogan is "Taking Back America -- One Gallon at a Time."

The idea for the venture came after Hurricane Katrina drove the price of gas up last year. "The price was too high and we started looking at alternative fuels," Sasher said. "We came across bio-diesel and ethanol and we figured that both of them can be made for around 70 to 80 cents a gallon versus $3 a gallon for gas."

"That's a big difference."

It's a big enough difference that has turned their small office in Tullahoma into a beehive of activity, with the phone ringing from 6 in the morning all the way to midnight. Business had been slowly growing, but when the national media started publishing stories on their product two weeks ago, the interest took off.

Sasher admits that since the product was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show, he's only gotten about three hours sleep per night.

But the media attention has also resulted in plenty of people approaching the company wanting either to help out, sell them equipment to expand their production, or seeking more information about the ethanol kits.

Plans for the stills are selling for $39.95 plus tax and a fully assembled kit is going for around $1,400. They've sold thousands of copies of the plans and between 200 to 300 of the fully assembled stills.

Any car built after 1980 can run up to 15 to 20 percent ethanol mixed with gasoline. With gas near $3 a gallon, using it can reduce your fuel cost to around $2.40. But newer model cars with a flex-fuel engine can run on 85 percent ethanol or in a E85 ready vehicle.

They also offer a link on their web site ( http://www.dogwoodenergy.com ) to a Brazilian product called a FlexTune, which when installed on the fuel injection system will instantly enable automobiles to run on nothing but the 190 proof ethanol. Brazilians have been using the device for over 25 years, and they are now 95 percent oil-free, the website states.

"People are calling from Australia, Europe ... we just shipped one to Africa," Sasher said. During the T-G's visit, a receptionist was answering questions about shipping to Canada.

They are manufacturing the stills in a 2,000 square foot building in Moore County, just a few miles from Jack Daniels Distillery. "However, we've outgrown it already," Sasher said of the building. "We're looking at a bigger facility in town -- 20,000 square feet."

Also over the past two weeks, Dogwood Energy hired 10 more people and look to bring 30 more aboard to deal with the massive interest and demand for the product.

Sasher is an electrical engineer, specializing in computers, and had considered himself semi-retired when he started the company. But with all the success over the past two weeks, the idea of retirement has obviously been put by the wayside.

The good news is that they are going to be able to keep up with demand and plenty of people want to come work for them. Others are helping out with the production process in nearby towns.

Sasher stresses that he will not sell out his business to "the big oil companies" and that he is sticking with his investors.

For more information on this do-it-yourself fuel system, write Dogwood Energy at P.O. Box 875. Tullahoma, TN 37388. Office and phone hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and they can be contacted at (931) 563-2308.

http://www.t-g.com/story/1152480.html