AKRON, NY — Ford Gum & Machine Company, Inc., leading manufacturer and distributor of premium gum and confectionery products announces the retirement Al Julius, Director of Sales, Special Markets. Mr. Julius has served for many years on the Board of Directors of the National Bulk Venders Association (NBVA).

"Everybody in the bulk vending business knows Al Julius," said Steve Gold, Ford Gum’s Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing. "His warm relationships with brokers and customers alike were a cornerstone in building successful special market strategies. He handled a myriad of responsibilities and helped expand the products and reach of the markets he served. He leaves a legacy that will remain for many years to come."

Mr. Julius began his career as a salesman in the greeting card industry in 1959. Over the next decade he moved to the northeast where he held several administrative and field management positions with the makers of Lysol brand products. After a period as Division Manager, Mid-Atlantic States, for the Grocery Products Division of Pet Incorporated, he was promoted to the company’s St. Louis headquarters to become Director of Trade Promotion and Development.

In 1982, he was named Midwest Region Manager for David & Sons, beginning his long association with the confectionery industry. He became Regional Manager at Donruss Co. and later, when Donruss became Leaf/Donruss, and then Leaf, he moved into administration and was responsible for staffing the direct sales organization and the development of sales and procedure manuals for the direct and broker sales force. As a mainstay of Leaf’s Bulk Vending Department, he developed a number of multi-flavored gums and candy products including Thunderbolts filled gum, Beach Ball and Watermelon Striped Gum, Fruit Stand with dedicated flavors and Time Bomb Surprise Center Jawbreakers, that have become standards in the bulk vending industry.

He continued in this capacity after Leaf became Hershey, remaining a constant face that customers knew and trusted. When current Ford Gum management purchased the Ford Gum divisions from Hershey Co. in 1997, Mr. Julius was named Director of Sales, Special Markets.

As for future plans, "I’ll be heading to Lake of the Ozarks, MO, for plenty of fishing, traveling and spending time with the family," says Julius.