People, Places and Tough Plastics: The developer of CycolacTM ABS takes you behind the scenes of his remarkable life and his work that made possible u (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781939722034)

Howard H. Irvin is a pioneer in the development of the Cycolac brand of ABS (acrylonitrile butadyrene styrene) at Borg-Warner Chemicals (originally known as Marbon); the groundbreaking plastic was first used in portable radio cabinets for RCA and most famously for AT&T's color telephones. Cycolac was the first moldable plastic that was not only hard and rigid, but also tough, not brittle like polystyrene. As Vice President and Technical Director of the company, he oversaw about 50 degreed professionals and technicians at the company's laboratories in West Virginia. He retired in 1982 as Vice President of Borg-Warner Corporation after having been President of Borg-Warner International, with a half-dozen plants in North America, Europe and Asia. He describes relationships and encounters with well-known individuals, including Henry Ford, Henry Kissinger, General Electric's Jack Welch and Borg-Warner's Jerry Dempsey and Jim Beré. His corporate responsibilities included extensive travel in Europe and Asia. He offers colorful commentaries on his business and personal globe-trotting experiences. He immigrated in 1938 to the United States from Munich just a few years before Hitler's onslaught against German Jews. Knowing very little English when he arrived, he resolved to work hard to succeed in his adopted country. His post-retirement global consulting to the plastics industry spans 30+ years. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in May, 1987, from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering with high honors from its predecessor, Rose Polytechnic Institute, in 1943. He joined Rose's Board of Trustees in 1976 and has Emeritus Trustee status. He and his wife, the former Libby Tarler, celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in September, 2013. Visit Howard Irvin's website at www.howardirvin.com and see his YouTube video at http: //youtu.be/VJNnwpj_pLA