William Stanley Jordan, who helped lead one of the United Kingdom firms involved in the development of compression molding, and an early innovator in injection molding has died. He was 90.
Jordan, known as “Tiny,” joined Peerless Group after a stint in the army and graduation from England's Loughborough University when the company was still known for brass stampings.
As chairman, Jordan saw the potential of injection molding, and turned the company in that direction through the 1960s.
Peerless invested in Bipel injection and compression molding machines, establishing itself a reputation for the supply of automotive and building components.
Around this time it also produced the first semi-rigid ‘Pelican' plastic baby bib.
Acquisitions followed, notably Barclay Stewart Plastics and structural foam technology in the late 1970s, which led to the design and manufacture of a unique range of off-the-shelf computer housings.
Peerless later developed gas-assisted injection molding technology, becoming known as Cinpres, for which the group won an award in the mid-1980s and the creation of a company licensing the product worldwide.
The group went public in 1980, when it employed 400 staff.
Jordan, who died in September, leaves three sons, including Mike Jordan, who founded auxiliary company Summit Systems in 1990.