Located in the windswept Barton County countryside, Fuller Industries Inc.’s plant sits smack-dab in the heart of Kansas. Yet, take a stroll through the massive commercial cleaning product manufacturing facility west of Great Bend and one will find glimpses into far-flung locals around the world and beyond.
Hanging from the otherwise plain cinderblock walls are around 15 photographic murals. These giant prints measuring 13 and a half feet by eight and a half feet show scenes of mountains, waterfalls, forests, jungles, swaying palm trees and even the space shuttle Columbia orbiting earth.
“They’ve been there for 30-plus years,” said Rick Zimmerman, who has worked in maintenance at Fuller for over 50 years. They were installed by a previous owner in 1991 or 92 after the plant was repainted greens and golds to the current building-wide off white.
In one mural-related antidote, Zimmerman said birds sometimes get into the plant and he’s seen them flying at the forest view over a back door. “They think it’s the outside, I guess.”
The idea, he said, was to add some color and brighten up the surroundings. Now, these decades later, the color has faded some and there are a few knicks caused by forklifts, but the prints continue to bring the outside to the inside.
About Fuller Industries Inc.
Based in Great Bend, Kan., with a rich heritage dating back over a century to the Fuller Brush Man, Fuller Industries is a leading American manufacturer of industrial products, including cleaning chemicals and supplies, as well as brooms, mops, brushes and more. Fuller serves manufacturing, commercial, institutional and agricultural clients across the Western Hemisphere. Call 620-792-1711 or visit Fullerindustriesllc.com.