Denmark-based Novozymes, a biotechnology company that supplies enzymes for ethanol production and other applications, will open an office at the Iowa State University Research Park in Ames as early as April. The company will lease a 2,000-square-foot facility to open its Midwest customer solution center for the biofuels industry.

It will staff the new center with four employees in its first year, some of whom will provide customer support and training for customers in the ethanol industry. Others will research and develop new technologies to help make ethanol production from plant fiber commercially viable.

“By strategically locating this satellite office in the heart of America’s fuel ethanol industry, we are better able to serve Novozymes’ customers through closer access to our experts, analytical support and regional training center,” said Tom Burns, the company’s customer solutions manager, in a press release. “This location will also allow us to advance biofuels research by partnering with some of the world’s top scientists and specialists in bioenergy at Iowa State University.”

Novozymes has operations in California, North Carolina and Virginia. The company employs 4,500 people worldwide and markets more than 600 products for biofuels, textile, food and other industries. The enzymes it produces for ethanol production convert plant starch into simple sugars that can be fermented into fuel.