Web Poll: Ideas That Changed Plastics

Was it the reciprocating-screw injection machine that did it? Or was it the twin-screw extruder? Maybe it was the invention of linear low-density polyethylene or flame-retardant additives or the desiccant dryer? If you had to say what were the most important technical breakthroughs that helped plastics penetrate every industry and type of product over the last 50 years, what would you pick?

Tell us what you think by going to our website, www.ptonline.com, and filling out the online poll there. It's anonymous; you don't have to register or anything. Just select your Top 10 Innovations in Plastics for the past half-century from the list our editors have provided—or write in your own choices.

Let your imagination run loose—we also provide space to predict what might be some of the blockbuster milestones of the next 50 years.

This online poll is part of Plastics Technology's celebration of our 50th year of publication. That's fifty years of reporting innovations in machinery, materials, additives, and processing techniques. We're asking readers and a panel of long-time experts in plastics to pick developments that had the most impact. We'll report the choices in our October 50th anniversary special issue, where we'll review each critical development and how it changed our industry.

Please visit our website and contribute your thoughts to the poll, which closes at the end of this month.