Sedalia, Missouri – Dec. 7, 2021 –The State Fair Community College Foundation recently received $300,000 from Gardner Denver for its Stronger Workforce, Greater Community capital campaign to help build the Olen Howard Workforce Innovation Center. The new building on the Sedalia campus will expand the college’s capacity to meet the growing demand for technical workforce training and strengthen the communities it serves.
Gardner Denver merged with Ingersoll Rand in early 2020 and is a global market leader with a broad range of innovative and mission-critical air, fluid, energy, and medical technologies, providing services and solutions to increase industrial productivity and efficiency. Combined, the company now has more than 300 years of experience and innovative expertise from over 16,000 global employees. The Sedalia facility has been in operation since 1979 and employs just over 250 people locally.
“We are very thankful to Gardner Denver for their generous gift to the Olen Howard Workforce Innovation Center,” said Mary Treuner, SFCC Foundation executive director. “It is because of forward-thinking and community-minded companies like Gardner Denver that our quality of life continues to thrive in Pettis County. The foundation and college greatly appreciate Gardner Denver for their investment in our capital campaign that will help build a stronger workforce in our area.”
The campaign, Stronger Workforce, Greater Community: A Capital Campaign for the Olen Howard Workforce Innovation Center and Center for Excellence was launched last year. The college broke ground on the new center in December 2020 on the site of SFCC’s original buildings, affectionately known as Plywood U. Information about the project and ongoing construction is available at www.sfccmo.edu/OHWIC.
The Olen Howard Workforce Innovation Center and the Fielding Center for Excellence will increase the college’s capacity to deliver workforce training by 200 percent and increase enrollment by at least 120 percent in career and technical areas. The new workforce training center will provide expanded lab and classroom spaces for training in welding and precision machining. Renovations to Fielding Technical Center will provide a Center for Excellence for industrial technology, leadership and supervisory skills and logistics training; space for the new pre-apprenticeship program; and a climate, refrigeration and energy control (HVAC) lab and an advanced manufacturing and robotics lab.
