Jim Newkirk - Founder and President
Jim was born and raised in North Hollywood CA and attended a seminary boarding school in Warrenton, MO and St. Paul, KS. He enlisted in the US Navy and served from 1965 to 1969 as a Jet Engine Mechanic (ADJ-2). Jim returned to college and worked as a pressman during the summer. Graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1974 with B.A. Degree in History with emphasis in Latin American History.
He worked as a photographer for the University of Notre Dame and free lanced for a few years before taking a job as assistant plant manager for a bag manufacturing company in Los Angeles.
Jim started in the ink business with Converters Ink Company, Berkeley Branch, where he served as a Technical Sales Representative for 9 years. Next Jim, along with Russell Greenhouse, joined Ink Technology where they teamed up to bring a viable water ink to the wide web flexible packaging market. During that time they sold Ink Technology to Midland Color/INX where they remained for 5 years.
Jim and Russell founded Fluid Ink Technology, Inc. in 1994 and Jim now serves as its President. He says, “It is hard to believe Russell and I have been in this business for over 25 years. What a way to get an on the job MBA.”
Russell Greenhouse - Founder, Vice President and Chief Technical Officer
Russell has been in the Flexographic and Rotogravure Industry for more than 30 years. With 28 of them in the fluid ink business, as an owner, a salesman, Technical Director, Technical Service, Operations Manager, President and Vice President.
Russell began as a narrow web flexographic and letterpress press operator. He has used fluid type printing inks from aniline dye, permanent dye, pigmented, vinyl and lamination solvent inks in the beginning. Russell was personally involved in the actual testing, development, and early production of water based flexographic and rotogravure ink technology.
Having developed some of the first wide web flexographic and rotogravure water based fluid inks and coatings, he has a keen sense of water ink technology and how it translates to press performance. Russell is currently involved in over seeing the latest in both water and solvent fluid ink technology where his understanding of ink chemistry and flexo process is invaluable. He has very diverse background in fluid ink manufacturing, technology, materials, and how best to apply those resources to any specific application or problem.
James holds a B.S. in Management Science, from California State University San Bernardino and M.B.A. from the University of California Irvine. He has an extensive background in manufacturing, finance, and I.T. with over 25 years of experience in several industries. James is fluent in Chinese and has lived in various countries in Asia before coming to the US. He has resided on the East and West Coasts and now calls California home.
With his background in operations research, James is a firm believer of putting the best processes and people in place in order to achieve the best long term results. Since joining Fluid Ink Technology, he has implemented several process improvement projects and set up a very progressive and motivated management team. In addition, James is instrumental in obtaining more favorable credit terms with our financial partners and under his direction we have cemented better relationship with our vendors.
It is James' goal to create a world class operations and grow Fluid Ink Technology into a major player in the ink industry. One thing that is certain is that he will continue to make improvements to the company to better serve our customers by supplying the best products at competitive prices with the highest level of service.
Adrian was raised in Tecalitlan, Jalisco, Mexico and immigrated to the U.S. at age fourteen. He started at Fluid Ink in 1995 as a packer, then to production and manufacturing. In 1998 Adrian was promoted to Solvent Production Manager. He is currently the QC Manager in Moorpark.
Jay is the Technical Director of Solvent Products. His responsibilities include formulation and maintenance of solvent based systems. In addition, he works with sales to identify areas of technical need and developing new products.
Jay Bosco was born and raised in Central Massachusetts. He is a graduate of Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY. Before Fluid Ink Technology, he spent 14 years with Sun Chemical in positions ranging from R&D to Technical Service.
Karel is the plant manager at Fluid Ink Technology’s South Plainfield facility.
Karel started working in the ink industry in 2001 when he began his employment with Fluid Ink Technology. He has worked in all areas of the manufacture of ink starting from container filling to ink batch making, shipping and receiving, quality control in the lab, customer service, purchasing, and administrative work.
Karel was born and raised in New Jersey. Before starting to work for Fluid Ink Technology, he lived in the Czech Republic for nearly 8 years teaching English as a second language.
Gerald was raised in Philadelphia, PA and graduated from Temple University with a B.S. in Human Biology with and emphasis in Biochemistry. He moved to the west coast in 2003 and started with Fluid Ink that year. He is responsible for the maintenance of the environmental data for our raw material and finished goods including tracking and usage of HAP’s, VOC, Prop 65, and SARA III chemicals.
Gerald provides reporting for our customers and fields requests from them and our salesmen that range from researching new legislation to determining how an international customer’s environmental laws will mesh with our products. Much of the work he does is related to reporting to different Federal and local environmental groups.
Whittney was raised in Sherman Oaks, CA. She is the Office Manager in Moorpark, CA and is responsible for Customer Service, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Sales Reporting and Data Entry Support for Manufacturing. What keeps her job interesting is the people that she works with and the daily adventures in the office.
Donna is the corporate Controller and Human Resource Manager. She has a strong background in Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, collections, audits, and sales tax. Donna’s main responsibilities here at Fluid Ink include Human Resources, daily and monthly financial reporting, payroll, and audits.
Tony was raised in Ventura County, went to school locally and started working at Fluid Ink in the production department. Through hard work and dedication he has been promoted several times and most recently to Plant Operations Manager. His greatest challenge at work is dealing with the ever changing ink industry and the demands associated with “JIT” supply.
Terrill was raised in Simi Valley and Bodega Bay CA in Northern California where she attended Sonoma State University. She joined Fluid Ink Technology 10 years ago and has grown in her career and is now the National Inventory Control Manager with responsibility for managing inventory, safety and plant equipment. She remains the only employee to have worked at all locations.
In addition to the numerous positions she has held, she also made many good friends while at Fluid. “Working at Fluid Ink has been like working with family. I truly respect and appreciate the opportunities, friends, and mentors that I have been blessed with” said Terrill. Being given new responsibilities, the people she works with and the fast paced environment is what keeps her job interesting.
Craig was born and raised in Southern California. His has been with Fluid Ink Technology for 11 years. Craig is the Laboratory Manager in Moorpark CA. His responsibilities are managing water base R&D, Lab projects, Quality Control, and the Pigment department. Craig says, “At Fluid Ink we develop a wide range of products which makes for an interesting work environment. We are constantly changing pace and formulating new inks for the industry.”
Ray was raised in Mexico. He has approx. 7 years experience in shipping and traffic control. Ray is the Shipping Manager in Moorpark, CA and his current responsibilities include managing the shipping and receiving functions, negotiating freights rates, determination of carriers to use for outbound and inbound freight, maintenance of forklifts and certification of forklift drivers. He trains his people on safety, shipment of dangerous goods, and new D.O.T. transportation regulations. What keeps Ray’s job interesting is maintaining good communications with all areas of the business.
