Six Inducted Posthumously to Plastics Hall of Fame
Ceremony to be held at ANTEC.
The SPI and The Plastics Academy announced six nominees to be posthumously inducted into the 2014 Plastics Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place on Sunday April 27 during ANTEC 2014 in Las Vegas.
"The Plastics Hall of Fame inductees recognizes individuals who have a strong record of consistent dedication and extraordinary accomplishments, and who contributed to the stature and growth of the plastics industry," said Jay Gardiner, president of The Plastics Academy and president of Gardiner Plastics, Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.
The 2014 posthumous inductees are:
- Dr. Robert L. Banks and Dr. John P. Hogan: Hogan and Banks’ groundbreaking discovery of crystalline polypropylene on June 5, 1951, led to the development of a new catalytic process for making a high density polyethylene and launched a new family of polyolefin plastics that included both the polypropylenes and polyethylenes.
- Dr. Earnest C. Bernhardt: Bernhardt was a plastics engineer who devoted his life’s work to the development of process applications for the injection molding and extrusion of engineering materials. Bernhardt contributed to a number of globally known companies including BASF and DuPont. Bernhardt also wrote and contributed to a number of publications on the advancement of the plastics industry.
- Frederick N. Biesecker: Biesecker was one of the early pioneers in the plastic bottle industry and a visionary entrepreneur who, along with his wife, enabled the growth of Drug Plastics and Glass Company from humble beginnings to a world-recognized healthcare company.
- Willi Müller: Müller devoted more than 60 years to the plastics industry beginning as a tool and die maker. Müller started W. Müller KG where he developed industry changing extrusion heads that revolutionized the blow molding industry.
- Hans Reifenhäuser: Reifenhäuser, with his entrepreneurial spirit, helped refine and develop the modern-day extruder for use in a multitude of processes, bringing his company into the forefront of extrusion machinery manufacturers.
