Street rods, custom cars, home remodeling, woodworking 1950s/1960s memorabilla, hunting, golf, family, friends and flexo—such is the life of an FTA Hall of Famer. Our 48th inductee is a tenacious individual—creative, innovative. He is a cancer survivor, an artist, somewhat of an inventor, a mechanic, even a snow bird who enjoys both his well-earned retirement and the good life. Fast to identify possibilities and even faster to dedicate himself to making what some would call dreams realities, he’s a flexographer through and through and has been for nearly 50 years. 

Advice and observations rendered two decades ago, from the stage of FFTA’s Annual Forum, by our inductee, can be sounded today and still be right on the mark. “Overcome imperfections. Get creative. Control variables… No one in this business can produce quality work consistently without a great deal of creativity and attention to detail….Producing process work should not be something magical or mystical, but something we can print by the numbers.”

Life and career experiences range from early days on a drafting board, to a seat at the table in the Flexographic Technical Association’s Board Room (1987-1993). His face should be familiar to most anyone who has been in the industry for 10 or more years. This man is a past Excellence in Flexography Awards chairman; a one-time chair of FTA’s Narrow Web Strategic Leadership Council; a recipient of the 1991 FTA President’s Award; a multi-time regional workshop host and coordinator; frequent Forum speaker; contributor to FTA textbooks and training manuals; and a staunch advocate for the creation and continuation of process printing curriculums at graphic arts focused colleges, universities and secondary schools.

Most often associated with Topflight Corp. and its York, PA plant, where he rose from artist to art director, manufacturing director and vice president of manufacturing; flexo drew him to the general manager’s role at both The Label Co., St. Louis, MO and CCL, Charlotte, NC; before retirement—something Charlie Brown now deems “the greatest job of all.”

Mover, Shaker & Mentor
Friend and fellow Hall of Famer Bruce Riddell, Spectrum Label, recalls, “Topflight, under Charlie, used very innovative approaches to printing and production of narrow web labels. Pressmen there did a lot of screen printing when it just wasn’t done in narrow web. Charlie was always ahead of the curve. He utilized turret rewinders before narrow web flexo embraced the concept.”

Skills enhancement was always on Charlie’s mind, according to Riddell. “Charlie was already established on FTA’s Board of Directors, when I came aboard. He was engaged in starting up the FlexSys training program for both narrow web and wide web. He developed training manuscripts for FTA and the industry, as well as curriculums for colleges, high schools and other educational institutions. He was always active—traveling around speaking and doing things. From Forums to conferences, to Saturday one-day workshops, Charlie was there; and when he was, he contributed willingly and dramatically to the proceedings. Everything Charlie Brown did, he did with a lot of enthusiasm. His commitment to FTA and flexography was strong and very, very apparent.” 

Denny McGee, MPS America, another FTA Hall of Fame member, expresses similar thoughts. “Very knowledgeable… Really pushing technology—plates, press, etc.—along… Always winning awards… To me that is and will always be Charlie Brown.”

Joe Trungale, often considered one of flexo’s historians, himself an FTA Hall of Fame member, remembers working with Charlie on a number of FTA Committees. “Charlie has always been a very joyful, great guy with a very pleasant personality. He was very dedicated to improving flexo printing in his company. His success story is one for the history books.”

Others, like long-time friend Randy Buckley, president of Buckley Graphics, feel Charlie’s story should be more aptly relegated to the humor pages. “Charlie’s a real card, always kidding, always laughing. He and I always had a blast at FFTA Forums, especially the one in New Orleans. We always teased each other about our abilities to make the most of the meeting and somehow find time for lots of recreational activities as well.

“Charlie and I met when George Parisi, then FTA president, drafted us on to the FlexSys Training Committee and tasked our group with devising the very first FTA training manuals and curriculums. The two of us, of course, focused on narrow web and participated in monthly meetings that necessitated we spend the night in Chicago. Day No. 1 of that project, Charlie pulled out pictures of the Topflight operation and the presses that the company built itself—right there on the premises. I think, I said something like, ‘They look like they were built in Poland.’” Charlie broke out in hysterical laughter. We’ve been friends ever since.”

Buckley calls Charlie his mentor, as well as a real pal. “Topflight had such specialty clientele and was engaged in very unique endeavors—like production of fire extinguisher labels. The engineering staff responsible for making all the plant’s equipment was top rate. Charlie was able to show me all kinds of things. I could look to him for advice whenever I needed an assist, no matter what challenge we were facing. He was always one phone call away….Still is.   

“Charlie is one of the most knowledgeable people, if not the most knowledgeable person that I’ve met in this industry,” Buckley continues. “He enjoys life. I’ve been with him in all sorts of situations. I’ve even seen him take down a deer—not a live one, rather a plastic lawn model—right in Dick Schwartz’ (Aladdin Label’s president), Wisconsin front yard. It marked the culmination of that day’s golf outing with my Dad (Jim), brother J.P., Dick and Charlie. What a fun time—one of countless experiences that Charlie and I have shared. I can hardly wait for the next one.”

Flexo Spark Ignited
Born and raised in Harrisburg, PA, in a family of three boys, Charlie remains close with his brothers, who all enjoy trekking off to the mountains, hunting and holiday get-togethers with the extended family—gatherings usually held at Charlie and his wife Sue’s home in Thomasville, PA.  

Charlie credits an art teacher from his youth and his days at The York Academy of Art with having the greatest influence on his professional career of any single person. During high school and art school, if he wasn’t fixing or racing cars, he was toiling away at the local bakery on most nights, but he abandoned that job when he and Sue were married. Charlie recalls, “Marriage required I get a real job and that was my introduction to flexo printing. I started in the Topflight art department in 1961. At the time, I really did not think I’d stay in the flexo printing industry, as the flexo house did not require any great talent on the drafting board. The processing was crude in the early 1960s, as I recall flexo in those days was little more than rubber-stamp printing.”

Elaborating on the point, the 2010 FTA Hall of Fame inductee says, “My interest in mechanics sparked my interest in flexography, and is probably responsible for hooking me in over a relatively short time span. Topflight had a production manager who was interested in advancing this process. I convinced him to take me to FTA meetings. It was obvious to me, from the very beginning of my association with FTA and its members, that many people in the industry felt there were many possibilities for the flexo process. FTA was the perfect organization to pull it all together.” 
 
Personal Pursuits 
Hands-on is Charlie’s preferred mode of operation, both at work and at play. “My personal interest includes street rods and custom cars,” he relays. “Sue and I enjoy remodeling homes, which we started after returning to Pennsylvania from North Carolina. We purchased a stable in Pennsylvania and built our home inside. There is plenty of room for holidays with our families.”

The Brown homestead includes a very large workshop, a place for all the cars, with heated floors, a 1950s themed area, and even a 1960 Seeburg Juke Box, with 100 forty-fives containing songs of the 1950s and 1960s. Of course, there is also plenty of room to dance.  

Home remodeling seems to be somewhat of a present passion for both Charlie and Sue. “We remodeled a cottage in a golf community in West Virginia; and are presently remodeling a home in a 55+ golf community in Florida. We are snow birds and proud of it. Pennsylvania winters are too cold!”

Ever the outdoorsman, Charlie says he is passing along that interest to grandsons Damon, 18 and Josh, 16. “I deer hunt with my grandsons and I enjoy being with them as often as possible.”

Known in flexo circles as a lover of golf, Charlie hits the links, side-by-side with Sue as often as possible. Kayaking ranks among their newest interests. Penn State football games remain a magnet of attraction. Traveling has been put off for health concerns, but thanks to a promising prognosis, it’s looking like some globetrotting is likely to occur in the very near future.

Honored, Yet Humble
Charlie still tells people that, “Getting involved with the FTA is the only way to improve the flexographic print process by providing a network of personal and professional associations. I encourage all companies to become involved in the FTA, in-order to enhance their performances. Participation is the sure way to improve flexography and advance its technologies.”

Pausing to reflect on induction into the Hall of Fame, he says, “The flexo industry was a very large part of my personal and professional life. Being recognized by my peers is such a high. There is not much that can compare to this event; except, of course, my marriage to Sue; the birth of our daughter, Kim and grandchildren Damon and Josh; and beating cancer.”

Clearly, the industry he loved and served so well, returns Charlie’s fond feelings as it comes together, borrows words from a well-respected social commentator, sharing the same first name, and raises their voices in refrain: “You’re a good man Charlie Brown!”