Book details

  • Genre:technology & engineering
  • Sub-genre:Materials Science / General
  • Language:English
  • Pages:112
  • Hardcover ISBN:9798317844097

The PET Bottle Industry Pioneers

By Dr. Tom brady

Overview


Sam Belcher intended to write his book titled "The PET industry," but he never completed and published his book prior to his passing in 2009. However, in anticipation of writing his book Sam prepare comprehensive notes and summaries from many of us in the industry. Realizing that he was never going to live long enough to write his book, he gave his notes and his documentation to me for safe keeping, and he asked me to at least publish his summaries and information about the "pioneers" of the PET bottle industry. I have therefore included in this book the personal contributions of the PET Bottle Industry Pioneers that Sam had listed and which Sam had hoped to include, and I have retitled Sam's intended book to document those individuals in Sam's "Pioneers" list specifically. At Sam's request, therefore, this book that I am publishing is Sam's 2009 book. However, I am publishing his book now in 2026 by referring to Sam's 2009 notes, by quoting and copying directly from his notes and documentation, but also by "filling in" a few unwritten pioneer biographies, as Sam requested me to do. My goal in preparing and publishing this book is simply to pass on what Sam left unfinished, in honor of and with fond memories of Sam Belcher.
Read more

Description


Dr. Tom Brady began his career at Owens-Illinois, Inc. in 1972, just as the carbonated soft drink suppliers began asking their package suppliers to create and offer family-sized carbonated beverage containers, which required an industry-wide conversion from glass and aluminum to plastic. As a fledgling senior scientist Tom, along with his O-I colleagues and along with other industry package suppliers accepted the challenge and, over just a short 10 year period, created an entirely new industry to supply sustainable PET packaging to the beverage, food, medical, and personal care product industries. When O-I abandoned commercialization of the new and successful PET container in 1985 because it was affecting O-I's glass container business, Tom left O-I and founded Plastic Technologies, Inc. with the initial goal of helping the Coca-Cola Company self-manufacture its own PET plastic containers. Over its 40 year history, PTI has become a key technology development supplier and manufacturer of PET packaging for many of the major global brand owners, resin suppliers, and machine manufacturers, and PTI has also emerged as a leading industry resource for training, manufacturing support, recycling technologies, and laboratory testing. As a subsidiary of SIPA Solutions, PTI is still known for developing and commercializing sustainable plastic packaging products and processes. This book titled "Tom Brady's Historic Plastic Bottle Museum" documents what is perhaps the only collection in the world of many of the very first PET containers that were developed by PTI and by other packaging industry suppliers and fulfills Tom's desire to document the startup and history of the PET packaging industry which has come to dominate the soft drink, food, medical and personal care product industries.
Read more

About The Author


Dr. Tom Brady spent 50 years in the plastic packaging industry and participated in the development of many of today's standard plastic packaging technologies. In 1986, Tom founded Plastic Technologies, Inc. to continue the journey that he began at Owens-Illinois in 1972. In 2009, Tom took a dramatic career turn to become Interim Dean of The University of Toledo's College of Education, and today he remains committed to promoting and improving education, from PreK through Higher Education. His charitable and community service work includes serving as a board member for the Northwest Ohio Regional Growth Partnership, Toledo Port Authority, Lourdes University, Toledo Symphony, University of Toledo, and the Ohio Governor's Third Frontier Commission, among others, and Tom and his wife, Betsy, continue to support entrepreneurial, teacher education, and engineering technology initiatives at the University of Toledo, Dartmouth College, and the University of Michigan. Tom earned his BS and MS degrees from Dartmouth and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He holds six U.S. patents, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Plastics Industry in 2010, was inducted into the Plastics Industry Hall of Fame in 2012, and has received numerous other honors, including being named Entrepreneur of the Year in 1989, and Philanthropist of the Year with his wife, Betsy, in 2006.
Read more