B R I T I S H P L A S T I C S F E D E R AT I O N

Pre-1900
1284
First recorded mention of The Horners Company of London, with horn and tortoiseshell as the predominant early natural plastics

1823

1845

Macintosh uses rubber gum to waterproof cotton and the mac is born

Bewley designs extruder for gutta percha

1850

First submarine telegraph cable in gutta percha laid between Dover and Calais

1872

Hyatt brothers patented rst plastics injection moulding machine

1885

George Eastman Kodak patents machine for producing continuous photographic lm based on cellulose nitrate

1862

Display of Parkesine, predecessor of celluloid (cellulose nitrate), at the 1862 Great International Exhibition in London
1880 1892
Fashion for long hair leads to cellulose nitrate replacing horn as the preferred material for combs

1890

Thermoforming introduced and used to make babies rattles from cellulose nitrate

Viscose silk (rayon) developed by Cross and Bevan (Chardonnet Silk)

1898

Beginning of mass production of rpm gramophone records from shellac

1899

Krische and Spittler in Germany awarded patent for Casein plastic from milk. Artefacts introduced at the Plastics Universal Exhibition in 1900

B R I T I S H P L A S T I C S F E D E R AT I O N

1909 1915

Casein plastics, derived from milk, developed by Erinoid

1900-1929 1900 1929

Queen Mary sees casein products at the British Industries Fair and orders several pieces of jewellery made from it

1916

Rolls Royce begins to use phenol formaldehyde in its car interiors and boasts about it
1922
Staudinger published his work recognising that plastics are composed of long chain molecules leading to a Nobel prize in 1935

1919

Eichengrun produce rst cellulose acetate moulding powder

1921

Beginning of rapid growth of phenolic mouldings especially for electrical insulation, with addition of phenolic laminates in 1930

1924

Rossiter at British Cyanide develops urea-thiourea formaldehyde resins, subsequently commercialised as the rst water white transparent thermosetting moulding powder

1926

Eckert and Ziegler patent rst commercial modern plastics injection moulding machine
1926
Harrods host rst display of coloured thermosetting plastics tableware produced by Brookes and Adams, The Streetly Manufacturing Company and Thomas De La Rue and Co.

1929

Bakelite Ltd receives its largest ever order for phenolic moulding powder for the casing of the Siemens telephone

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1932 1930
Scotch tape, the rst transparent sticky tape invented in US by 3M Company

1930s
1933
Fawcett and Gibson at ICI discover polyethylene

Screw preplasticisation in injection moulding patented

1933

BPF founded on the 21st December 1933. First Chairman, Charles Waghorne of Insulators Limited

Crawford at ICI develops rst commercial synthesis of poly(methyl methacrylate)

1935

Troester in Germany produce rst extruder designed for thermoplastics

1937

First commercial production of polystyrene by IG Farben, Germany

1935

Carothers and DuPont patent nylon

1936

First production of aircraft canopies made from Perspex

1938

1938

First toothbrush with nylon tufts manufactured

Full scale production of nylon 6 bre begins in United States

1938

Plunkett (DuPont) discovers PTFE

1939

rst commercial production of polyethylene in UK by ICI

1939

outbreak of war strategic stockpiles of materials

B R I T I S H P L A S T I C S F E D E R AT I O N

1940

First production of PVC in UK

1940s 1940

Polyethelene used as radar cable insulation DuPont introduces polyacrylonitrile (PAN), an early engineering product

1941

Whineld and Dickson, of the Calico Printers Association of Manchester, patent polyethylene terephthalate (PET); followed by the creation of the rst polyester ber called Terylene

1940s
1944
Bakelite Handgrenade widely used by British Troops in Normandy
1942
Super Glue (methyl cyanoacrylate) rst discovered by Dr Harry Coover, Eastman Kodak

1943

First pilot plant for polytetrauoroethylene (PTFE) ; to be marketed under trade mark Teon

1945

The production of the LDPE Sqezy bottle by Monsanto caused a rapid expansion of the industry with containers produced to replace glass bottles for shampoos and liquid soaps.
1948
George de Mestral invents Velcro, patented in 1955

1947

Formica melamine faced decorative laminates introduced into the UK

1948

Introduction of 12 long playing records made from PolyVinyl Chloride (PVC)

1948

1949

1949

Acrylonitrilebutadienestyrene (ABS) produced

High impact polystyrene introduced as a commercial plastic

First Airx self-assembly y model produced, made of polystyrene

1949

Launch in US of Tupperware made from low density polyethylene

1949

Lycra based on polyurethane, invented by DuPont nt

B R I T I S H P L A S T I C S F E D E R AT I O N

1950

1950s 1950
1950s
Introduction of acrylonitrilebutadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymers

ICI opens new factory at Redcar to produce Terylene

1951

Festival of Britain

1953

Commercialisation of polyester bres introduces the concept of drip dry and non-iron

1954

1950s

Polystyrene foam introduced by Dow Chemical Co.

1955

First production of high density polyethylene in UK

The polyethylene bag makes its rst appearance

1956

DuPont les patents for rst acetals (POM)

1956

1956

Reliant Regal 111, rst commercially successful all glassreinforced-plastic bodied car goes on sale

Eero Saarinens Tulip Chair launched, consisting of a seat made of glass-brereinforced plastic

1957

The hoop is reinvented as the Hula Hoop by Knerr & Medlin, Wham-O Toy Company
1957
First production of polypropylene by Montecatini using Ziegler-Natta catalysts

Lego patents its stud and block coupling system and produces toys of cellulose acetate, later Acrylonitrilebutadiene-styrene polymer

1958

1958

First production of polycarbonates (Bayer and General Electric)

1959

Barbie Doll unveiled by Mattel at American International Toy Fair

B R I T I S H P L A S T I C S F E D E R AT I O N

Early 1960s

1960s-70s
1960
E Ethylenev vinyl acetate c co-polymers la launched by D DuPont

1962

introduction of waterbased acrylic paints

DuPont launches polyimide lms and varnishes

1962

Silicone gel breast implants pioneered successfully

1970

First Yellow HDPE pressure pipes for gas introduced into UK by Wavin/British Gas

1965

Kevlar is rst developed by DuPont and used in tyres

1967

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Blow chair designed by Scolaria, De Pas and Lomazzi, manufactured by Zanotta

1969 1973
1973

Neil Armstrong plants a nylon ag on the moon

1976

Martin Cooper, a Motorola researcher and executive, designs the rst ever mobile phone

Plastics in its great variety of forms becomes the most used type of material in the world

1977

Polyaryletheretherketone First PVC-U double (PEEK) was rst glazed windows prepared by ICI installed in the UK

1979

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1980

1980s-90s
1982
First articial heart made mainly of polyurethane, implanted in a human
1983
ICI and Bayer launch PEEK, PPS (polyphenyene sulphide), and PES (polyether sulphone)

First production of linear low density polyethylene

1980

First Blue HDPE pressure pipes for potable water introduced into UK

1987

BASF in Germany produces a polyacetylene that has twice the electrical conductivity of copper

1989

1990

1983

rst light-emitting polymers (poly-ethyne) discovered in Cambridge

ICI launches Biopol, the rst commercially available biodegradable plastic

The slim plastics Swatch watch made of 51 components, mainly plastics

1991

1988

Introduction of triangular recycling symbols relating to plastics

Dysons vacuum cleaner launched in Japan

1998

1994

Smart car with lightweight exible integrally coloured polycarbonate panels introduced

F Free standing Z Zanussi Oz f fridge, with insulation and outer skins made in one process from polyurethane foam, introduced

2000s

B R I T I S H P L A S T I C S F E D E R AT I O N

Nano-Technology applied to polymer and composite applications

2000+
2001
iPod dreamed up by Tony Fadell, an independent inventor, developed by Apple Computers

2000

First commercial metallocene catalysed polyolens introduced

2005

Polycond project established to look at the potential of conductive polymers

2005

NASA explores the advantages of a polyethylene based material RFX1, as the material, for the spaceship that will send man to Mars

2008

Airbus 380, comprising 22% carbon-bre reinforced plastics, ies into Heathrow

2009

Boeing 787 (nicknamed Boeings Plastic Dream) comes into service, its skin is made up of 100% Plastic composites with plastic making up 50% of all materials in the plane