Lifetime Achievement Award

Charlie Brown Named 2020 FSEA Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

The Foil & Specialty Effects Association (FSEA) is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award – Charlie Brown of Metal Magic.

With college degrees in chemistry and electrical engineering, along with a reputation for being able to fix any mechanical problem, Charlie Brown wasn’t originally destined for the foil stamping industry. More than three decades – and more than one million dies – later, Charlie Brown has been named the 2020 FSEA Lifetime Achievement Award honoree.

Metal Magic was started at the urging of a friend when Charlie began etching and finishing copper dies for foil stampers. Opening in 1988 with a $10,000 loan from his father, Charlie originally operated his new company in the back of the Arizona Embossing building. Only six months later, Metal Magic moved into its own building and hired its first employee, who is still with the company today.

Metal Magic quickly became known throughout the country as a leader in copper die manufacturing. That nationwide reputation rapidly increased the company’s demand for quality copper dies, and just five years after setting up shop in its own building, Charlie purchased a new manufacturing plant to enable future growth. Today, Metal Magic has grown though the service and quality that were at the heart of the company Charlie started.

The FSEA Lifetime Achievement Award is bestowed on one individual every two years, honoring professionals in the foil stamping and embossing industry who have made significant contributions to the advancement of the industry at large. Nominations for the recipient of this award are submitted by FSEA members. From those nominations, a committee comprised of past FSEA presidents make the final honoree selection.