PT's Naitove Among 18 Headed to Plastics Hall of Fame

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Longtime editor of Plastics Technology Matthew Naitove is among 18 industry giants headed to the . Naitove and 17 others will be enshrined in a ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, in Düsseldorf, Germany, the day before the opening of the show.

Naitove dedicated his entire professional career to reporting on new technology, trends and 911�� opportunities for plastics processors. For more than 50 years, he represented Plastics Technology at trade shows, press conferences and open houses, keeping industry professionals up to date on information they could put in place to better run their 911��.

A consummate journalist, Naitove served as chief editor of PT for more than 25 years, where he not only directed all editorial content but mentored many other reporters who went on to have long careers in plastics journalism. Among his many honors, Naitove was the recipient of the Jesse H. Neal Award, considered the Pulitzer Prize of 911�� journalism, in recognition of his reporting and editing excellence.

To this day, Naitove serves as contributing editor of PT, where he focuses his reporting on blow molding.

Established in 1972, the Plastics Hall of Fame has grown to 253 members representing nine countries, including five Nobel Prize winners in chemistry.

In addition to Naitove, others to be officially inducted in October are:

• Norm Fowler, Xerox Corp., Strategic Initiative Lean Six Sigma leader and member of the Society of Plastics Engineers International Executive Committee, 1990-2000.

• Yukio Iimura, former chairman and CEO of Shibaura Machine Co. Ltd., who made groundbreaking advances in injection molding technology.

• Dr. Robert Langer, MIT, pioneer of drug delivery and tissue engineering using biodegradable plastic scaffolds to grow transplantable tissue.

• Dr. Chul B. Caleb Park, a distinguished professor at the University of Toronto and a global leader of academia and industry in developing and applying the latest in polymer foaming technologies.

• Charles Sewell, CKS Packaging, head of a global manufacturer of extrusion/blow and injection-molded plastic containers.

A young Naitove (right) getting the “scoop” on new technology in 1973 from Barry Potter, then marketing manager of injection molder Nylon Products (now Nypro). Source: PT

• Bill Stavropoulos, The Dow Chemical Co., former CEO who led a major restructuring, including the acquisition of Union Carbide, and advanced Dow’s polyethylene franchise.

• Peter Steinbeck, Windmöller & Hölscher, CEO of a 155-year-old German company that produces machinery for blown/cast film and printing.

• William Young, Plastipak, chairman and CEO of a global leader in the design, manufacturing and recycling of rigid plastic containers.

Inductees receiving the honor posthumously, include:

• Helmut Bacher, Helmuth Schulz and Georg Wendelin and, founders of EREMA, a plastics recycling technology company.

• Dr. Erwin Bürkle, KraussMaffei Technologies GmbH, former head of injection molding technology.

• Bill Knight, Dow Chemical Co., a key player in recognizing and developing the Insite polyethylene technology that has defined Dow’s polyethylene 911��.

• Irene Schwarz, Engel, a leader and defining presence in the history of the injection molding machine builder.

As part of its induction ceremony, the Plastics Hall of Fame will also enshrine three historical pioneers who passed away more than 25 years ago. These industry figures often lack champions in the election process but made vital early contributions. They are:

• Dr. Otto Röhm and Otto Haas, founders of Rohm and Haas Co., best known for Plexiglas, patented in 1933 as a strong, transparent polymer.

• Hans H. Wanders, Rawson Moulding Company, who patented what is believed to be the first semiautomatic rotary molding press and was a charter member of the Society of Plastics Industry (now the Plastics Industry Association).

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