Altra Inc

Biofuels developer Altra Inc. bought California's largest ethanol plant from Phoenix BioIndustries Inc. of Fallbrook, Calif., for an undisclosed price, the two companies said. The plant, in Goshen, Calif., started operations nearly a year ago. It can produce from corn as much as 27 million gallons of ethanol a year. Los Angeles-based Altra is funded by several major venture capital firms and hopes to expand the San Joaquin Valley plant's capacity to 35 million gallons a year.

Ethanol maker Altra Inc. of Los Angeles broke ground on a 60-million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant in eastern Ohio. The $100-million plant in Coshocton will begin production by October 2007, said Larry Gross, chief executive of Altra, a privately held firm. Altra aims to become one of the biggest producers of ethanol and biofuel in the U.S. by buying and expanding ethanol plants and building new ones.

Los Angeles-based alternative-energy company Altra Inc. raised more than $120 million from private investors in its latest financing round -- a sign that major venture capital firms have not been scared off by growing talk that too much money may be chasing too few sustainable ideas in the search to replace gasoline. The new funding, which Altra could announce as early as today, brings its total to more than $250 million from some of the nation's top venture capital firms.