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| History of the Fuller Brush Company |
| On a cold, crisp winter day...New Year's 1906...a 21-year-old entrepreneur from Nova Scotia, Alfred C. Fuller, began an enterprise which has become known worldwide as The Fuller Brush Company. From a bench between the furnace and the coal bin in his sister's New England home, young Fuller set out to make, in his own words: ”...the best products of their kind in the world.” Through the years, The Fuller Brush Company has grown from one man's fiber suitcase, filled with unique custom-made brushes, to an exciting collection of home/business care and personal care products, all crafted with the same quality and precision that have made The Fuller Brush Company a name welcomed everywhere. From the beginning Fuller established three basic rules: Make it work Make it last Guarantee it no matter what. Today, almost a century later, these words still guide The Fuller Brush Company. The Fuller Brush Company's Sales Force continues to grow and to answer the need for unique, quality products and personal service. One salesman's utilitarian idea, acted upon at the beginning of this century, has become the livelihood for thousands of dedicated men and women who will lead into the next. Approaching the Twenty-first Century, the modern and flexible manufacturing facility near Great Bend, Kansas, continues a tradition of excellence by producing the world-famous quality products associated with The Fuller Brush Company. State-of-the-art automated equipment is mixed with many operations completed entirely and lovingly by skilled hands, so customers receive value without sacrificing beauty. More than 2,000 items are formed within the bustling twelve-acre plant including: Household Cleaning Aids Industrial Cleaners Polishes & Wax Products Cotton & Synthetic Mops Floor Brushes & Brooms Stainless Steel Sponges Twisted Wire Brushes & Swabs Personal Care Brushes Lotions and Fragrances Hair Care Aids Made-to-order Products... Industrial Brushes Plastics, Wood-Shaped Formed Metal Silk-Screened Graphics Aerosols, Chemicals The 500,000 square foot plant was completed in 1973 and today Fuller remains the major employer in the Barton County, Kansas area. 1909 The first appearance of Fuller Brush in print came in 1909, in an interview with Alexander Graham Bell for American Magazine. 1915 After six years, feeling confident that his company was doing well, Alfred Fuller bought a new pair of work overalls to replace the pair he always wore with one leg missing. When he put these on in the shop, one craftsman pointed to him and announced, “Boys, the business is on two legs at last. We’ll never be fired. Dad Fuller has a new pair of overalls!” From that day on, everyone in the company called the company’s founder “Dad” Fuller. 1922 The phrase “Fuller Brush Man” was coined by a salesman for The Saturday Evening Post. Until then, members of the Fuller Brush sales force weren’t sure whether to call themselves salesmen, dealers, representatives or distributors. Within the month, every Fuller salesman was approaching customers with a new introduction: “I’m your Fuller Brush Man!” The Fuller Brush Man He had become a national celebrity by the early 1920s, having made regular appearances in popular comic strips with Mickey Mouse, Dagwood and Blondie, Mutt and Jeff and Donald Duck. He even made a guest appearance in Walt Disney’s Three Little Pigs. The Pledge Insisting on uncompromising integrity, Alfred Fuller made each distributor sign what was called The Pledge of the Fuller Brush Man. Among the promises they made by signing the Pledge was the vow to “realize that my obligation is one of service to the customer, to the company I represent and to the community in which I live and work.” Each Fuller Brush Man also swore: “I will be courteous; I will be kind; I will be sincere; I will be helpful.” 1924 Alfred Fuller hired Henry Cave - the English Inventor of an internal combustion engine, acetylene welding equipment, ball bearings and the original flame thrower - to develop additional products for his company. Cave invented the famous Fullergript principle for making superior brushes in ‘34. In all, he developed and assigned to Fuller 80 patents which, according to the company founder, “revolutionized the technical phases of our industry.” 1940s Fuller Brush went to war, supplying the military with 40 million brushes to clean weapons. Also, Fuller’s “Noble Combs” were absolutely essential for the production of uniforms. Getting the oriental hog bristles for these combs was a major objective of the famous airlift from China to India - known as “Flying the Hump.” The workers of the Fuller Brush Hartford Plant received an award for high achievement in the production of war materials in 1945. 1948 Red Skelton appeared with Alfred Fuller on Eddie Cantor’s radio show to talk about the soon-to-be-released movie, The Fuller Brush Man. The hilarious comedy-mystery movie, starring Red Skelton, was a box office smash, drawing movie-goers in record numbers. 1950 Lucille Ball starred in the movie, The Fuller Brush Girl. The film met with the same overwhelming success The Fuller Brush Man had enjoyed. Focus on Character One of the keys to the enduring success of The Fuller Brush Company was its emphasis on people. Yes, Fuller products were superior. But companies with excellent products fail every day. Alfred and his management team focused on the salesmen and created one of the most successful and popular businesses in the history of commerce. Growth and Transition In the late ‘60s, Fuller became a part of one of the world’s strongest and largest business entities: the Sara Lee Corporation. For over a decade, Fuller Brush matured and grew into the technological age under the influence of this multi-billion dollar giant. Fuller’s capabilities in the areas of manufacturing, research and development and computerization greatly increased during this period of time. 1989 A private group led by Mr. H. Lee Turner, a successful Kansas trial lawyer and business investor, purchased Fuller’s manufacturing facility from Sara Lee. 1991 The world had changed radically since Alfred Fuller launched his brush company in 1906. Yet the new owners were determined to carry the Fuller tradition of quality, service and integrity into a new century of growth. A Fresh Direction In 1991, the door-to-door sales method was replaced with an innovative new direct marketing plan called Fullshare. This plan gave distributors of Fuller products the chance to generate unlimited incomes by sharing those products with others and developing their own marketing networks. In the same way Alfred Fuller made door-to-door selling an art and a science, today’s Fuller Company has raised to new heights the process of marketing products through sharing. Just as The Fuller Brush Man of yesterday was the acknowledged leader in direct sales, so are today’s Fuller distributors the leaders in profitably sharing products with others. Today and Beyond The Fuller Brush Company is now entirely owned by CPAC, Inc., a world-wide leader in the field of cleaning and janitorial supplies. The Fullshare marketing program has been completely overhauled. It is now called Fuller Gold and offers an even better earning opportunity for Fuller Distributors. And the Fuller Direct program now allows independent distributors the ability to offer complete mail order service to their customers. Gold Marketing Plan Questions |
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