PARSIPPANY, NJ − July 20, 2007 − Gordon MacQuaker, a leader who played an integral role in Sun Chemical’s rise to its position as the world’s foremost ink and pigments manufacturer died on Monday, July 16 in Boynton Beach, Florida. He was 93.
MacQuaker, known as ‘Mac’ in the industry, last served as Executive Vice President for Sun Chemical, retiring from that role in 1996, but staying on as a consultant until 1998. Sun Chemical enjoyed tremendous growth during MacQuaker’s tenure, during most of which he oversaw operations for General Printing Ink (GPI, now known as Sun Chemical’s North American Inks business unit). He won many industry awards during his career, including the prestigious Ault Award.
“Gordon was a well respected figure in the industry and was an important part of Sun Chemical’s history as it rose to the industry leadership position that we hold today,” said David Hill, Sun Chemical president and CEO.
MacQuaker joined American Printing Ink, a division of GPI, in 1941 as an offset and letterpress technician. A few years later he was named manager of the Clearing plant and assistant general manager of GPI. In 1963, he was elevated to run the ink operations as the leader of GPI. That year, Sun Chemical had $25 million in ink and pigments sales – last year Sun Chemical had over $3 billion in sales worldwide.
An active member of his community, in 1993 MacQuaker began the Boynton Beach, Florida chapter of “I Have a Dream,” an organization committed to helping children from low-income areas reach their education and career goals by providing a long-term program of mentoring, tutoring, and enrichment with an assured opportunity for higher education.