Red Gold makes donation to Purdue Polytechnic

Brian and Selita Reichart, owners of Red Gold Inc., an Elwood, Ind.-based supplier of food products under its own brand and for private labeling, announced a major donation to the new headquarters of Purdue Polytechnic – Anderson during a Sept. 15 Madison County groundbreaking ceremony for the facility in Anderson, Ind.

The donation includes a $280,000 cash gift, along with an additional $252,000 to be used for Red Gold workforce and student development at Purdue Polytechnic – Anderson, Red Gold stated. Red Gold has been an instrumental partner with Purdue University, West Lafayette and the Anderson location. The company has had great success in hiring graduates of Purdue Polytechnic and in investing in their employees’ development as non-traditional students at the location. Many Red Gold employees have earned degrees while working in their advanced food processing facilities in Elwood, Orestes and Geneva, Ind. 

In the past several years, Red Gold has expanded its commitment to Purdue statewide by offering classes to employees and members of the community at John Hinds Vocational Career Center in Elwood, and the John Jay Center for Learning in Portland. Growing talent and student interest with the right skills allows Madison County and Indiana to continue to support careers that require science, technology, engineering, math and applied skills, Red Gold said.

“Brian has had a tremendous commitment to expand Purdue’s technology outreach to grow student’s curiosity and passion connecting them with careers in advanced manufacturing. This donation is a huge win for this region, and will continue to accelerate Purdue’s vision," stated Tim Ingle, vice president of human resources and corporate strategy at Red Gold. “The partnership offers advances in innovation, technology [and] agri-business, creating collaborative space to explore and solve industry problems while providing invaluable real-life learning experiences for employees and students.”

As part of the partnership with Purdue, Red Gold will foster future employment opportunities for students through co-op and internship programs where students can apply learning in a real, advanced food-processing environment and build lifelong skills to be marketable in a variety of industries and disciplines, Red Gold said.

“Purdue Polytechnic and Red Gold have been great long-term partners because we both understand the importance of technology and technological skills in a global marketplace,” said Corey Sharp, director of Purdue Polytechnic Anderson. “We are grateful for the Reichart family’s most recent contribution to both Purdue and the Madison County community to make sure area students have access to both.”