75 years​ of SPE: A timeline

1942

The Society of Plastics Engineers forms in Detroit.

Glass-reinforced plastics began appearing in the 1940s, mainly initially for military use in World War II. An early application in the U.S. war effort was to lock the triggers of unexploded bombs. Military vehicles on the ground and in the air placed a premium on high strength and light weight, spurring development of thermoset composites. It was discovered that glass fibers with their high theoretical strength could be applied to the composites with great effect. Thermoset polyesters were key to the growing sector, but by 1956, as reported in an SPE technical paper, work had begun on epoxy-glass composites.

1949

Silly Putty became the commercial name of the polymeric material that felt like modelling clay but could bounce, stretch and copy printed images when pressed against them. The fast-selling product logged $6 million in sales that first year.

1952

William H. Willert of Clifton, N.J., invented the reciprocating injection screw, now a vital part in injection molding and blow molding machinery. In 1956, Willert received U.S. Patent 2,734,226 for the discovery.

His patent description described this scenario: "The trend in the plastics molding art has been steadily in the direction of the production of larger and larger integral molded parts. This has introduced new problems into the injection molding field or has aggravated the problems already present. Such technical difficulties center around the problem of designing a machine to deliver a consistent mass of thoroughly homogenized plastic material at a uniform rate and temperature under pressure to a mold."

Willert received SPE's International Award in 1977 to honor his revolutionary work.

1957

Velcro, the useful plastic hook and loop fastening system, was patented by Swiss engineer George de Mestral. He was mimicking the behaviour of cocklebur plants with seeds that have tiny hooks that snag on clothing and hair. Early versions adopted nylon hooks and soon evolved into non-rotting, flexible fastening products now widely used on consumer goods such as clothing and sports gear.

1963

Giulio Natta received SPE's International Award for his contribution to the invention of so-called coordination polymerization catalysts, crucial to development of polypropylene and an array of polyethylenes and other resins. Natta improved on earlier catalyst work by Karl Ziegler and the two were instrumental in developing Ziegler-Natta catalyst technology in the 1950s. The Italian and German received the 1963 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their groundbreaking research.

1968

Glenn Beall formed his own product and design company after stints at General Electric and Abbott Laboratories. Beall evolved into a well-respected plastics guru who advised on design and engineering and acted as a consultant on many aspects of the industry. After joining SPE in 1960, he rose to become a Distinguished Member of the Society. His tireless work for SPE included his founding of SPE's Product Design & Development Division.

1970

Ralph Noble became the first SPE president who was not a U.S. citizen

Noble joined SPE in 1951 and the Canadian started the Quebec Section soon after SPE expanded into Canada. Noble helped establish major PVC compounder Synergistics Industries Ltd.

1980

Carl D. Ring joined Ring Can Corp. and helped it diversify from a metal can manufacturer into a major producer of blow-molded containers for food service and chemical industries. Now Ring Container Technologies is one of North America's largest blow molders with numerous operations in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Carl Ring was awarded SPE's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.

2016

SPE's Plastics Engineering publication shed a spotlight on the spread of Industry 4.0 and the internet of things in the injection molding sector. Smart machines and auxiliaries and 3D printing were a few of the topics in the May issue.