Written on: March 8, 2021 by Don Farrell
I am Don Farrell, and as of January 1, Publisher of SPRAY Technology & Marketing. As many readers may not know my name, you could say I am new to SPRAY. However, that is far from the real story.
I started my career with Industry Publications, SPRAY’s parent company, in the late 1970s as the advertising salesman for what was then called Aerosol Age. In those early years, I attended most of the major industry meetings including CSMA (now the Household & Commercial Products Association or HCPA) in Florida, drifting from cabana to cabana, getting to know who was who and what was what.
Looking back into our archives, I found a report on the “hot topics” from my first CSMA meeting in January 1979. One presenter proposed what the “New Markets” for aerosols might be in the 1980s. The list was long, close to 50 items, but some of the more interesting ones were, Products that Improve Cooking Skills, Products that Keep Household Cleaning Unnecessary, Products that Remove Pollutants from the Air and Products that Provide Sun Protection (not a particularly hot topic in those days, if you will excuse
the pun).
I stayed with Aerosol Age for several years before shifting my focus to another industry publication within the company. Cynthia Hundley moved into my position at Aerosol Age and, of course, was SPRAY’s Publisher up until her recent retirement. Her career was long and distinguished; she was involved in so many aspects of the aerosol industry that it is impossible to list them all here. Industry Publications thanks her for her many years of diligent service.
During the past few decades, I’ve stayed up-to-date on the larger issues and movements in the aerosol industry, albeit from an upper management position as officer and owner of the company. I have contributed to the promotion of the Eastern Aerosol Association, the Aerosol Summit, and the design of the aerosol industry trade show booth. You may have also noticed that I’ve kept my hand in every issue as the designer of each SPRAY cover.
Bernard D. Kahn, a speaker from that January 1979 CSMA meeting, summed up with this: If you consider the broad range of consumer benefit pressurized products can offer… if you think of new generations of products to meet new generational needs…you must conclude that the age of pressurized products has just begun.
SPRAY is committed, as ever, to seeing that through.
