It is with the greatest sadness that Natgraph Ltd reports the passing of one of its founder members, Ken Furmidge.
Ken was instrumental in the forming of Natgraph in 1979 having the foresight to adapt a metal halide flood light he had developed at Thorn Lighting to be used as an exposing lamp for screens. The first equipment he designed was indeed built on his kitchen table and delivered in the back of a Morris Minor estate car.
This insight into UV lamps gave Natgraph its foothold into the screen printing market and led to the further development of the highly successful range of exposure and screen manufacturing equipment; this in turn lead to the development of UV curing systems with the UV lamp design and operation, overseen by Ken.
He will always be remembered fondly by all who knew him at Natgraph wearing his trademark white lab coat and being a touch eccentric, having a passion for repairing everything from old Morris Minor cars to golf trolleys and even shoes!
His sense of humour was legendary at Natgraph, many of his jokes are still told in the company! As well as his humour he also possessed a very serious side and was level-headed and could always be approached for his input to difficult situations and problems.
Ken hung up his white coat and retired from day-to-day activities in 2013 but still remained a non-executive Director in the company. He was a keen golfer and very active physically, enjoying dancing with his partner Sonia, and gardening.
Ken suffered a sudden stroke and passed away on Thursday 7th November in hospital without regaining consciousness.
All the staff current and past at Natgraph Ltd send our sincerest condolences to his Children Ian, Lesley, Neil, Kimbal and to his long-time partner Sonia.
