Donald Graham: Business Leader and Innovator in Blow Molding

Donald Graham founded Graham Engineering Corporation, a world leader in the manufacture and sale of high-speed plastics processing machinery. He invented the rotary wheel line for extrusion blow molding of plastic containers, and his companies have grown extensively through mergers and acquisitions to become a multi-billion-dollar enterprise.

He graduated from the University of Michigan, earning a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1955 and an M.S. degree in Industrial Engineering and Business Management in 1956. In 1960 he started Graham Engineering in the basement of a rented farmhouse in Dover, Pennsylvania, with virtually no capital and only one employee. From this humble start, Graham Engineering became the technological engine that enabled the development and helped drive the growth of plastics in packaging, machinery, recycling, and building products.

As for the future of blow molding and plastics industry, he sees a drive for greater output pushing the sector forward. “Blow molding continues to expand with significant recapitalization demands in North America, Western Europe, and other well-industrialized nations,” Graham says. “The demand for higher outputs, greater efficiency, and increasing flexibility helps drive this opportunity. Light-weighting and continued conversions from other materials such as glass and metal are also contributors. Emerging growth markets create significant demand as well, with rising disposable income and growing populations leading to greater consumption of plastic products.”