John Maliszewski, former owner of Reliable Plating in Milwaukee and a staunch advocate for the metal finishing industry, passed away Oct. 14.
John Maliszewski John was president and owner of Reliable Plating and the founder of Briohn Building Corp.. He was the treasurer of the International Plating Association and involved in numerous charitable organizations. His sons Jaime, Jeff, and Jack Maliszewski followed him to work at Reliable.
Maliszewski’s wife, Betty, passed away previously, and he is survived by his six children, Jill (Scott) Koralewski, Jack (Faye) Maliszewski, Jaime (Julie) Maliszewski, Janet (Scott) Alberti, Jeff (Tina) Maliszewski and Jodi (Greg) Mallum, grandfather of 17: Kristin (Josh), Kollin (Jaime), Henry (Molly), Karli (Roberto), John, Gilbert, Ashley (James), Jak, Devon (Ashna), Colton, Tyler, Reese, Lauren (Emmett), Braeden, Ellie, Griffin, Gretchen, and 11 great-grandchildren, Isabella, Colton, Maddie, Conner, Mason, Addyson, Bentley, Kinsley, Beckham, Bernadette and Enzo. Dear brother of Camille Verban. Brother-in-law of Rory (Linda) Kaczmarek and Beverly Kaczmarek.
Visitation will be October 29 at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. Mass of Christian Burial will be at Entombment St. Adalbert Cemetery. The family wishes to express their gratitude to the caring staff at Froedtert Hospital and his heart team for all the wonderful care.
John was an avid sports fan. He especially enjoyed watching his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren compete. He loved playing cards with Barb and Kathy, lunches with his Romeo Club and his neighborhood Four o’clock garage happy hour.
In lieu of flowers, memorials to Thomas More High School or St. Joseph Academy appreciated.
Maliszewski in 1957Maliszewski was a 1957 graduate of St. Thomas More High School (Don Bosco ) in Milwaukee, where he was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2006. As a freshman, John became quarterback for the football team. After graduation he attended MATC and served 6 months active duty and 4 ½ years in the Army Reserve. He became president and owner of his own business in 1976. John served terms as President, Director, and Treasurer of Milwaukee Branch of American Electroplaters and Surface Finishing Society. He was also the Director of St. Francis Hospital Foundation, Alverno College Foundation, Thomas More Foundation and the Thomas More Cavalier Club. He was a found Director of Franklin State Bank and Merchant & Mfg. Bank Corp. Other involvements include scout leader, grade school coach, and annual Santa Claus for St. Francis Hospital Foundation.
The following is from the National Association for Surface Finishing upon his retirement:
After 47 years with the company, John J. Maliszewski has retired as chief executive officer of Reliable Plating Works, Milwaukee, WS. He will continue to serve as chairman of the board.
The announcement was made by Jaime Maliszewski, president of Reliable Plating Works, who now serves as CEO for the company.
John Maliszewski started working part time for Reliable Plating in 1953. He became a full-time employee in 1958, shortly after becoming a member of the AESF Milwaukee Branch. Starting out sweeping floors,
John MaliszewskiJohn worked his way up in the business, serving in a variety of positions. He was promoted to vice president in 1970. When his father, Julian Maliszewski, passed away in 1976, John became president of Reliable Plating. He became chairman of the board and CEO in 1980.
In his early career, John handracked parts and hand-dipped them to plate with copper, nickel and chromium. A few years later, it was John who first recognized the benefits of automation and what it could do for the company. At his urging, Reliable Plating added its first fully automated plating line in 1967. The shop now has three fully automated lines and plates about 2,000 ft2 of metal per hour, running two shifts a day.
As the primary decision maker for Reliable Plating, initiating programs for protecting the environment was a major challenge during John’s career. Under his leadership, the company began recycling in the early 1970s, long before there were federal mandates to do so. As a certified metallurgist, John realized that it would be easier to treat an unmixed waste stream, so he decided to eliminate copper, cadmium and zinc from the plating lines.
“We thought it was good citizenship,” he said. “We were ahead of our time then, and we still are. We now have systems in place to prevent pollution, decrease water usage and to completely recycle all solid waste from the plating operations.”
Under John’s leadership, Reliable Plating Works was the first Wisconsin manufacturer to run a nickel/chrome production line at “zero discharge,” which earned the company the Wisconsin Governor’s Award for Hazardous W aste Reduction, and a leading position in the ranks of environmentally conscious industries.
Looking back over the years, John said he is most proud of “the way my sons have followed in my footsteps in the business. They are good, responsible businessmen, and I couldn’ t be more proud of them.”
Currently, the Reliable Plating operations are headed by John’ s three sons—Jaime, president; John “Jack,” executive vice president, production; and Jeff, vice president, quality control.
John also credits his wife of 41 years, Betty Maliszewski, with much of the success of the company. “She’s been my partner at home and work. She always referred to Reliable Plating as her part-time job, and she has been working at her part time job since 1976,” John said.
Reliable Plating Works is now more than 50 times larger than when John started with the company. The shop finishes parts for some of the nation’s best known manufacturers, including Harley-Davidson, Briggs & Stratton, Broan and Fort James (formerly Fort Howard and James River). The shop finishes a variety of parts, some as small as a quarter and some as large as parrot cages measuring 25 in. by 25 in. by 54 in.
Involvement with other surface finishing professionals is among John’s most cherished memories of his career.
“In the AESF, the Milwaukee Branch stands out from all the rest,” he said. “The branch includes my friends and competitors—Ed Weiss, Bob Steuernagel and John Lindstedt.
“One of the most amazing things about this industry,” he continued, “is that we not only get along with each other, we share knowledge, cooperate with each other, and sometimes work together. In short, even though we are competitors, we are friends. I’ve never heard of a tighter knit industry than ours.”
John and Betty now spend most of their time in Bonita Springs, FL, where he fishes the Intracoastal Waterway, plays golf and is trying his hand at gardening. They try to travel back to Milwaukee about once each month, where John continues to assist in the business on a consulting basis. He also devotes a great deal of time lobbying on behalf of the surface finishing industry in the nation’s capitol.
