PORTAGE, WIS. — Following devastating flash floods and mudslides in Venezuela in mid-December, survivors are getting help from an unlikely source: thermoformer Penda Corp. The call to help came when a Penda sales manager contacted a customer in Caracas, Venezuela, who relayed the conditions in which survivors were living.
The 400 employees at the company's Portage headquarters collected food, water and other supplies, said marketing director Kristin Uttech. They also donated diapers, blankets and clothing, which are being packed into the truck-bed liners and toolboxes sent regularly for sale in Venezuela, Uttech said.
The relief shipments began last month and should continue during the next four to five months, she added.
Penda, which has four other plants, is owned by Miami-based private investment firm Trivest Inc.