When the first gallon of biodiesel flowed off the line in late April, Patriot BioFuels' leaders promised to increase production at its Stuttgart, Ark., facility as demand for the fuel increased.

Now, Patriot BioFuels has announced its intention to quadruple annual production of biodiesel to 13 million gallons per year, up from 3 million gallons.

Farmer's & Merchant's Bank of Stuttgart recently made the loan commitment. Arkansas Capital Corporation will also participate in the financing.

“Our team's ready, and it's time to ramp up and be a bigger player,” said Tommy Foltz, Patriot's president. “We're bringing more fuel to the market and that's good for the consumer.

“We have loyal customers who are forced to wait on fuel because we can't make enough with the equipment we have,” Foltz said. “We want to be able to get the product to the customer, when they want it.”

Patriot began selling fuel on April 27, 2006, after gaining EPA approval of its product on April 25. The company expects to sell 1 million gallons by mid-September.