What can you buy that is environmentally friendly, non-toxic, virtually odorless, non-flammable, costs less than a gallon of milk, is produced in Downtown Winnsboro and will get you down the road a spell?

Of all things, did you guess biofuel?

Entrepreneurs Joe Renwick and Brandon Spence, both 31-year-old Citadel graduates, are the genius behind Midlands Biofuels. They produce biodiesel using waste vegetable oils (WVO) generated from the food service industry. Their mission is to increase the availability of alternative fuels in South Carolina and create sustainable jobs in the biofuels industry.

They specialize in custom blends of biodiesel designed to meet the specific needs of their eco-friendly clients. Their products are created using multiple feedstocks from both virgin and recycled sources. Their fuels and additives meet or exceed American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. Midlands Biofuels is not only in the business of selling products but also providing their clients with a multitude of value added fuel services, such as: engine efficiency testing, fuel consumption reports, fuel blend consulting, fuel additive consulting and demos, bulk fuel delivery and bioFuel training.

An Advanced Placement chemistry class of 11th-graders from Dutch Fork High School was at the facility for a field trip. Joe Renwick was happy to stop and give the curious students a tour.

“We have built a fully sustainable business,” Joe Renwick told the students. “Every piece of equipment, every storage vat, tube, pipe, valve, well...you get the idea...is pieced together from used items and materials. We got the storage tanks from Winnsboro Petroleum and Paul Fazzio at the old Plas-tech factory. Joe Wilkes welded stuff together for us, and we built every piece of equipment we use.”

“Joe (Renwick) and I attended the Citadel at the same time,” said Spence. “We actually met when we first arrived there and were getting our heads shaved next to each other. We both got business degrees. I went into the Air Force, and he worked for Wachovia Bank.”

“Then I met a guy, who knew a guy, who knew how to make biodiesel,” Renwick said. “Brandon had recently moved to the area, and I had moved back, and we decided to open this business. We both had family in Winnsboro, and the rent for our building here was reasonable. Last August we produced our first drop of fuel, right here on Congress Street.”

Midlands Biofuels gets used oil from universities, businesses, restaurants and schools from all over the state. For every gallon of oil they collect, they can make a gallon of biodiesel out of it. There is no waste.

Fairfield Memorial Hospital has chosen to “go green” by recycling their cooking oil at Midlands Biofuels. The hospital will be set up with a tank to collect their used cooking oil.

“Our administrator, Mike Williams, was asked to participate, and he said absolutely,” said hospital Public Relations Director Mary Lynn Kinley.

The Fairfield County Correctional Facility also allows Midland Biofuels to retrieve their used oil.

“We have talked to the local school district about collecting their oil,” Renwick said. “Instead of the district sending employees to each school to pick up their old oil every month, we will go get it for them. That would be a cost savings, because there would be no employee labor costs for them.”

People come from Charleston to Greenville to get a fill-up for their diesel cars, sometimes bringing five gallon containers for refills.

“We only sell the biodiesel from here at this site,” explained Renwick. “Maybe someday we will expand to the point where we can use the rail spur behind our building to ship fuel to other locations. We make four to five thousand gallons a month, and a rail car holds 20,000 gallons. Currently, that would take us four months to produce that much fuel, but we do think it’s possible.”

“We are the only company producing fuel in the state,” Spence said. “If you think about it, all petroleum is piped in. Our biofuel costs a bit less than diesel, and gets the same mpg, which is 20 to 30 percent better than gasoline.”

“Biofuel is not necessarily a low-cost diesel alternative, but it is certainly an environmentally-friendly one,” said Renwick. “It is a new industry that will create jobs. We are making a difference for the future, right here in Winnsboro.”