Six months ago, a New York Times reporter was dispatched to Corvallis, Ore., to interview Justin Soares, the now 25-year-old founder of Grease Works!, an independent biodiesel cooperative that buys and distributes ASTM certified biodiesel in and around the community. Coincidentally, the very day the Times article ran, the group's newly designed Web site came online, giving the little known cooperative instant wide-spread recognition.

"It worked out nicely," Soares told Biodiesel Magazine. The Times article brought a lot of attention to what we are doing and the response was terrific."

The vibrant Web site, which offers not only information about the cooperative but also industry news and links to biodiesel research, photos and statistics, was designed by a Grease Works! member who owns an Oregon-based Web design company. While membership in the cooperative has remained relatively fixed--at press time Grease Works had 33 members--Soares said the new Web site has been a great promotional tool, as well as an effective forum for members to post and exchange information.

Grease Works! is a "bulk-buying" club that purchases biodiesel from an area distributor, SeQuential Biofuels of Eugene, Ore., which buys from World Energy Alternatives.

The cooperative is headquartered out of Soares' auto garage, where he makes a living working on diesel engine vehicles when he's not volunteering his time to Grease Works!. For $75 a year, Grease Works! members can buy biodiesel at a discount and have it delivered straight to their home.