David A. Swedlow
Swedlow Corporation
Inducted 1993
David Swedlow (1911 – 1991) was born in Denver, Colorado. He began his plastics career in 1934, making retail display items for department stores. Swedlow founded Swedlow Corporation, an acrylic manufacturing company in Garden Grove, California, with as many as 750 employees.
Swedlow is best known for his work with acrylic plastics but also made significant technical contributions to reinforced plastics. He pioneered efforts in the commercial and aerospace uses of plastics and developed a continuous laminating machine for reinforced plastics, a continuous casting machine for acrylic sheets, stretched acrylic sheets with improved properties, and free forming of complex acrylic shapes for aircraft canopies. Swedlow also developed a method of forming lightweight acrylic into the contours required for aircraft. Swedlow Corporation supplied these acrylic components to major aircraft manufacturers, including Northrup, Douglas, Boeing, and Lear. Swedlow’s company was the leader in manufacturing complex transparent systems for the aircraft and aerospace industries, including cockpit windows, canopies, and windshields.
In the early 40s, he developed a continuous method of combining glass fabric with thermoplastic resin to form rigid sheets. This material was primarily used in fuel cells for military aircraft. His ingenious method for continuously casting acrylic sheets created additional applications for signs, bathtubs, and the large-part vacuum-forming industries. During his 50 years of involvement in plastics, his contributions helped stimulate the industry’s technical and commercial growth. Swedlow retired as president of the Swedlow Corporation in 1986.
President Ronald Reagan best summed up David Swedlow’s talents and achievements when he wrote to Swedlow, “It is hard-working individuals like you who make up the backbone of this nation.”
Areas of Expertise:
Plastic processing, Management