The BRANDT Family
The Brandt family is very much involved in the management of BRANDT, Inc. Evelyn Brandt Thomas, who founded the business with her brother Glen Brandt, continues to contribute to the company’s operations and remains as consultant to the Board of Directors. Rick Brandt acts as the company’s CEO and president. And Rick’s daughter, Sierra, has recently bought an ownership interest after taking part in company functions for as long as she can remember.
Glen Brandt
The quintessential entrepreneur, Glen Brandt was a true pioneer in the field of fluid fertilizer. In 1953, he founded the business that would become BRANDT, Inc. when he began custom-applying anhydrous ammonia for local farmers. He was using a tractor borrowed from his father; he was 27.
Glen passed away in June 2020 at the age of 94.
Glen briefly attended Springfield (IL) Junior College before enlisting in the US Merchant Marines in 1944. He returned home after three years of service to help his father farm, but was drafted into the Army in 1950 to serve in Korea. After two years with the 27th Regiment of the 25th Division, he was honorably discharged. He returned to Pleasant Plains to continue farming with his father.
Starting in 1953, Glen lead a line of companies that would become BRANDT, Inc. From Brandt & Gardner Gas Station to Brandt’s Fertilizer Service to Brandt Chemical Company to Brandt Consolidated, Glen presided over the company’s rapid growth and set a vision for the future. Glen stepped aside as CEO of Brandt’s Fertilizer Service and Brandt Chemical company in 1986, at age 60, to serve as chairman of the board. In 1990, Glen oversaw the formation of Brandt Consolidated, the company that became BRANDT, Inc. in 2020.
Glen was always an active leader in the agrochemical industry. He served as the president of the National Fertilizer Solutions Association in 1972. The NFSA later spawned the Fluid Fertilizer Foundation, before becoming part of the Ag Retailers Association. In 2000, BRANDT was named Ag Retailer of the Year by the Ag Retailers’ Association and Ag Retailer magazine. In 2007, the ARA gave Glen its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2015, Glen, along with sister Evelyn, was named the Illinois State Ag Ambassador. A Patron of the Memorial Medical Center Foundation and charter member of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, Glen was always active in his community.
Evelyn Brandt Thomas
The company matriarch, Evelyn Brandt Thomas is a businesswoman, philanthropist, and civic leader. She has been an inspiration for women in business for decades, and her generous philanthropy and sustained community service have contributed to the quality of life for all who live and work in central Illinois.
After growing up on a small family farm near Pleasant Plains, Illinois, Evelyn earned an accounting degree from Illinois Business College, an unusual step for a young woman of that era.
In 1953, she and her brother Glen started a fertilizer business to supplement the family's farm income. That company has grown to be BRANDT, Inc., a global company dedicated to helping farmers adopt new and profitable technologies to enable their success.
At BRANDT, Evelyn put her accounting degree to work, running the books while Glen was busy with customers in the field. She became known by her CB handle, The Hawk, for her ability to keep an eye on all the financial details. Success didn’t come quickly. But thanks to the Brandt family and a team of dedicated individuals, success has been sustained. In 2012, BRANDT was named to Inc. Magazine's list of 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies. In 2023, BRANDT has sales in more than 80 countries and in 49 US states.
For 70 years, Evelyn has remained active in leading the family business. She still comes to the office every day.
Evelyn also has also made significant contributions to a number of non-profit organizations in central Illinois, as well as to the University of Illinois campuses in Springfield and Urbana. She is proud to be an advocate for the 4-H, FFA and she is a member of the Illinois Women’s Symphony Guild, Illinois Agri-Women, Women in Leadership, Lions Club and Women Entrepreneurs of Central Illinois. She is a past board member of the Illinois State Museum, Memorial Hospital Foundation and the Pleasant Plains State Bank (now INB). The Association of Fund Raising Professionals awarded Evelyn and her husband Gordon its 2002 Outstanding Philanthropist Award.
Recognized as one of the 2008 Women of Influence by Springfield Business Journal and Security Bank, she has also been honored with the Athena Award in 2009. Illinois Agri-Women named her the Outstanding Business Woman in Agriculture in 2011, and she was granted an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Illinois Springfield in 2014. Evelyn’s exceptional contributions were further acknowledged through her induction into the Senior Illinoisans Hall of Fame in 2020, and she was honored as The State Journal-Register First Citizen in 2022.
Rick Brandt
Rick Brandt has been the CEO & President of family-owned BRANDT since 1995. A major force in BRANDT’s phenomenal growth and expansion, Rick has overseen the acquisition and integration of 17 companies during his tenure.
Son of BRANDT founder Glen Brandt, Rick joined the company in 1991 after graduating from the University of South Florida with a degree in Economics. He spent the next four years working as an assistant to then BRANDT president Gary Grossweiler, pitching in and learning about the business. When Grossweiler retired, Rick was named president and CEO of Brandt Consolidated, Inc. Today, Rick oversees a global business with five complementary operating companys, employing nearly 800 associates from Springfield, IL, and Tampa, FL.
Rick is also CEO & owner of TradeMark Nitrogen in Tampa, FL. TradeMark is a wholesale manufacturer, marketer and distributor of bulk commodities for industrial and agricultural customers. TradeMark operates 24 hours a day/7 days a week/365 days a year to facilitate customer schedules and needs. With over 180 years of experience in the fertilizer industry, TradeMark’s highly trained staff has earned a reputation for reliability and performance. Rick also has significant stakes in Precision Build, LLC and Rev1 Energy.
Rick is married to Kristie and has a daughter, Sierra-Shae. Sierra took an ownership stake in BRANDT in 2020.
Sierra-Shae Brandt
Sierra-Shae Brandt became an owner of BRANDT in December 2019, marking the entrance of the third generation of the Brandt family into the ownership team. Following her graduation from the University of Tampa, she joined Team BRANDT as a Marketing Associate.
Sierra-Shae focuses on BRANDT’s sports marketing platforms. These include sponsorships with JR Motorsports and driver Justin Allgaier in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series and the Tampa Bay Lightning. She also helps manage the company’s other regional semi-professional teams and developmental sponsorships.
Working alongside her father, Rick, Sierra-Shae is building industry knowledge and corporate experience. She has infused the team with a fresh perspective and youthful vigor and her presence ensures that the third generation will one day take its rightful place at the helm of the family business.
