Longtime Sacramento-based company Alto Ingredients shifted headquarters to Illinois
A producer of ethanol used in products such as mouthwash and hand sanitizers — that was recently considered the Sacramento region’s largest publicly traded company by revenue — is no longer headquartered here.
Alto Ingredients is now based in Illinois, a move first reported by the Sacramento Business Journal as happening in early 2022. But filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission show the shift may occurred about March 2021.
That filing was two months after the company announced it had completed its name change to Alto from Pacific Ethanol, used since its founding in Sacramento in 2005.
The firm, which reported having 440 employees, still has a presence in Sacramento. Michael Kramer, Alto’s vice president and treasurer, told the Business Journal that roughly 10% of the company’s staff was still in the capital region.
Earlier this year, Alto reported that it was leasing roughly 11,000 square feet of office space in the city. The firm’s headquarters were previously on Capitol Mall in the Wells Fargo Center.
The company had continued to use a Sacramento dateline for its news releases including one as recently as this month. The Business Journal said Tuesday it also noted Sacramento as its location on its LinkedIn Page; however, that profile has seen been removed.
Its last production facility in California, a CO2 facility near Stockton, was sold to Airgas in 2018, according to company filings.
Alto did not respond to The Sacramento Bee’s request for comment about the move.
Alto Ingredients had a 145-acre footprint in Pekin, Illinois. before making the town of 31,000 near Peoria its new headquarters. In corporate filings, it touted how its plants there were “in the heart of the Corn Belt,” allowing for access to cheaper and plentiful “feedstock.” It also has facilities in Oregon and Idaho.
The firm’s specialty alcohol is used in a range of products made by brand-name manufacturers. Along with cosmetics, disinfectants and cleaners, it also makes spirits used in beverages and ethanol used to fuel vehicles. It has reduced its ethanol production over the years after drops in price and demand for the liquid made from corn and other plants.
On Monday, the company reported $317.3 million in revenue for the quarter ending June 30, down 12.3% from the same period a year ago, but still beating Wall Street expectations. Second-quarter net income of $7.2 million buoyed a tougher first half of the year for the company, which saw a net loss of $6.2 million.
Along with the quarterly results, the company announced its chief financial officer, Bryon McGregor, had become its new CEO, replacing Mike Kandris, who retired after three years at the helm. Kandris will remain with the company as interim chief operating officer, according to the Business Journal.
On Friday, shares in Alto closed down 8 cents to $4.26, but added 47 cents boost over the trading week for a 12.4% increase.
PowerSchool Holdings, based in Folsom, had the highest 2021 revenue of any publicly traded business remaining in the capital region, according to the Business Journal. PowerSchool provides cloud computing software used in schools.
