ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

 

The Company’s corporate headquarters is located at 251 O’Connor Ridge Boulevard, Suite 300, Irving, Texas, in an office facility where the Company leases approximately 27,000 square feet.

The Company’s 39 operating facilities consist of 25 full service rendering plants, six yellow grease/trap plants, four blending plants, one edible meat plant, one technical tallow plant, one hides plant and one pet food plant. Except for three leased facilities, all of these facilities are owned by the Company. In addition, the Company owns or leases 38 transfer stations in the U.S., some of which also process yellow grease and trap. These transfer stations serve as collection points for routing raw material to the processing plants set forth below. Some locations service a single business segment while others service both business segments. The following is a listing of the Company’s operating facilities by business segment:

 

 

* Property is leased. Rent expense for these leased properties was $0.6 million in the aggregate in fiscal 2006.

Substantially all assets of the Company, including real property, are either pledged or mortgaged as collateral for borrowings under the Company’s credit agreement.