Plastics Hall of Fame to get six new members

The U.S. National Plastics Hall of Fame will induct six new members at a ceremony to be held in conjunction with this year’s NPE in Chicago. The six are as follows:

>Samuel L. Belcher
Belcher, president of the consulting firm Sabel Plastics in Moscow, OH, made his mark in the field of blow molding, particularly stretch blow molding. He designed the first bottle with an integrated handle, which he patented and licensed to Mitsubishi of Japan. He also invented the first flip-top living hinge for liquid detergent bottles, which he patented while working at Owens-Illinois.

>F. Reed Estabrook, Jr.
Estabrook participated in several important early developments in the thermoset and thermoplastic molding industry. Founder of Brook Molding Co., he pioneered injection molded nylon gears. He also advanced the use of beryllium-copper for mold components and complete molds.

>Michael F.X. Gigliotti
Gigliotti spent 35 years with Monsanto’s plastics group (now Solutia) where, among other things, he managed pioneering programs for plastics in automotive, pipe, construction, housing and furniture applications. He was also involved with the commercial introduction of Coca Cola’s first plastic carbonated beverage bottle.

>John Kretzschmar
Kretzschmar founded Blako Industries, a manufacturer of extruded products, located in Dunbridge, OH. He distinguished himself in a number of leadership roles in plastics associations, including president of the Society of Plastics Engineers and director, Society of the Plastics Industry.

>Albert Spaak
Spaak played an important role in the development, design and manufacture of an early line of all-mechanical, electric drive, toggle injection molding machines with DeMattia Machine & Tool Company. He also played a part in advancing blow molding processes for HDPE, including molding of dairy bottles and double-walled packaging.

>Dominick Rosato
A toolmaker by trade, Rosato has written and published 25 industry handbooks and reference texts on a variety of plastics-related topics and prepared more 2000 articles, papers and presentations.