8 | Clark Manufacturing
Gary worked for a time with Dow Chemi-
cal Company, and later as manager of a plant
that specialized in the manufacturing of fish-
ing lures, before ultimately determining to
launch his own company in Michigan. With
support and encouragement from his father,
Clark Manufacturing began as a tool & die
job shop with only a handful of employees
and 1,200 square-feet of operating space.
At the time, the father’s Ohio stamp-
ing operation had certain niche work which
included a bit of assembly that it outsourced
to Clark in Michigan. Fuller says this work
primarily consisted of creating a small mech-
anism which helps lock a lid down over the
drawer within a cash register machine. Full-
er says many may be surprised to learn that
since 1960, the locking mechanism found in
every cash register produced by the National
Cash Register Company was actually creat-
ed in Michigan. While that work comprised
most of Clark’s earliest efforts in industry,
