Beyond FTA
Stepping beyond FTA, Jack served as a one-time president of the Flexographic Prepress Platemakers Association (FPPA). He was a familiar voice in, and presence at, The Association for the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) activities, and a dedicated, highly engaged member of the Association of Independent Corrugated Converters (AICC). There his reputation was built on his repeatedly asked question, “What do you need?”
Mike D’Angelo, AICC president was quick to praise Jack’s spirit and willingness to get involved. “No one I know has ever said a bad word about Jack Fulton. He and Printron have been reliable, long-time supporters of AICC and the independent, paper-based converter community.
“Through the years, whenever AICC was seeking sponsorships or technical expertise on a matter, Jack stood up and contributed greatly to the culture of collegiality that exists at AICC between converting members and suppliers. He is one of the good guys in the industry. We are so happy that FTA is inducting Jack into its Hall of Fame. It is a hard-earned, well-deserved honor.”
Friends & Colleagues
Colleagues’ recollections painted Jack as a true gentleman, one willing to train, educate, praise and advocate team building. Rick Pomeranka, his frequent partner and shadow on sales calls and trade events, stated, “Being inducted into the Hall of Fame is an honor befitting a man who has worked so tirelessly on behalf of Printron, his customers, his industry, and the Associations that support that industry.”
He recalled, “Jack was an innovator in the combined board corrugated sector. In the late 1980s and 1990s, graphics on corrugated took off and Jack saw the need to understand the print process and all that goes into it. He saw a need for training in the industry. Jack set up print training seminars. His seminars encompassed the entire process covering substrate, print press, prepress/plates, ink, anilox and sound press procedures. He enlisted speakers for each topic that had expertise and experience that were willing to share their knowledge.
“From a sales perspective, Jack helped his staff with training that would help them become proficient in all aspects of the print process,” Pomeranka continued. “His belief was that if we could become a resource for our customers for job planning and press issues, our customers would stop seeing us as vendors and view us as a part of their team. He always told me, ‘If a customer asks you a technical question and you have the correct answer, respond and make sure they understand you. If you’re not sure what the answer is, write it down, find someone that has the answer and get that information back to them as quickly as you can.’ Sound advice like that, helped make me successful.”
Barry and Hart expressed similar thoughts. “He pioneered and presented seminars with UW Milwaukee in the late 1990s called, ‘Graphics for the Future,’ that served to train and inspire many in the industry. In addition to leading the sales team as VP for decades, Jack was always active in several industry organizations. He has made presentations at many national meetings and regional workshops and has been quoted in many trade publications over the years.”
Even his customers, once acquaintances and business partners, evolved into life-long friends. Mike Schliesmann, a former FTA Board chair, former senior VP and business unit manager, Great Northern Corp, is one example. He told FLEXO, “I have known and worked with Jack Fulton for almost 40 years in the corrugated industry. Jack is one of the most knowledgeable people in our industry when it comes to printing, printing plates and prepress. His opinion is one that Great Northern and I often sought out throughout my career. I have continued to rely on it after I retired.”
He further observed, “When confronted with challenges, we could always look to Jack to either have the answer, know where to get it, or be willing to work with us to figure out how to test to find the answer. Jack, and the team he worked with at Printron, have helped many companies in the corrugated industry improve their processes and be the best printers they could be.”
Schliesmann reported, “Jack has been very involved in different trade organizations over his career. He has been willing to share his knowledge, helping assure others coming up behind him in the industry had opportunities to learn cutting edge ideas and technology to improve their processes. Jack has also been very persuasive over the years in getting other colleagues and customers he has worked with to also become engaged with trade groups and share their knowledge. This generous attitude certainly helped to improve the capabilities of our industry.”
He added, “Congratulations to Jack, and his always supportive spouse Mary, for a job well done and your induction into this prestigious group.”