Rhino Foods founder works to be state’s best employer

Considering the current administration’s targeting of refugees, Ted Castle, founder of Rhino Foods, came to the Men’s Breakfast at the Charlotte Senior Center with a refreshing message last Friday.

It wasn’t all upbeat, but Castle’s talk on March 14 had a good bit of optimism when it came to the issue of refugees.

After graduating in the 1970s from the University of Vermont, where he played hockey, Castle played professionally in Italy and Sweden. He returned to the States and was an assistant coach for a few years at UVM. He was stunned when head coach Jim Cross left, and he wasn’t chosen to take over.

He started a company selling Chessie’s Frozen Custard and Chesters ice cream sandwiches, which evolved into Rhino Foods. Now, Rhino makes inclusions, which doesn’t have anything to do with diversity, equity and inclusion, except that Castle and his company are committed to being inclusive.

Inclusions in this sense are chunks of cookie dough or baked brownies that Ben & Jerry’s uses in its ice cream.

Since 1996, Castle said that 35 percent of their employees have been New Americans or refugees. Initially, Rhino Foods had lots of employees from Bosnia, then Croatia and Africa. Now, it’s getting lots of employees from Nepal and Afghanistan.

“We wanted to be the best employer for New Americans in the state because we knew that was a competitive advantage for us,” Castle said. “It takes a lot of work to get good at this. And you’re never good at it, because it’s always changing.”

Instead of concentrating on the bottom line, he said what excites him about business is having his business be “a force for good.”

Thirty years ago, Rhino instituted “open book management,” so everybody in the company knows if it is making or losing money and what the sales are.

“The only thing we keep private is what you personally make,” Castle said.

Another thing that they have done to keep employees and help them succeed is something they call “employee exchange.” There was a time when Rhino had 50 people and knew a temporary downturn was coming for at least three months when they would only need 30 employees.

The company went to its employees to find a solution. They suggested the company could lend the employees to other companies like Ben & Jerry’s, Lake Champlain Chocolates, Gardner’s Supply and Vermont Teddy Bear. In effect, Rhino Foods became a temp agency.

When it came time to send employees to another company the first time, they asked for volunteers, but no one raised their hand. Then, they said they wanted to send their best employees to the other companies temporarily and the response was huge.

Castle said they wanted their best employees to go so that they would represent Rhino well, and so that they bring back ideas Rhino could incorporate into its procedures.

Realizing that most employees don’t have even $500 dollars in a savings account to help if they have a financial emergency, like having their car break down or making a mistake on their income tax, Rhino started a program it calls “income advance.” Employees can get a $1,500 loan with no questions asked and no credit check.

Their paychecks are debited $50 a week. After the loan is repaid if they don’t stop “income advance,” money is still deducted that becomes a savings account which some have used to build up money for a down payment on a home.

Ninety-seven percent of the employees who borrowed money through the program continued with it into becoming a savings account, he said.

“I would say our biggest thing right now with the current administration would be our fear for our employees,” Castle said.