Michael F.X. Gigilotti
Monsanto Company
Inducted 2003
Born in Utica, N.Y., Michael F.X. Gigliotti (1921 – 2009) was raised in Hoboken, N.J. Gigliotti graduated from the Stevens Institute of Technology, Class of 1942, before beginning a successful 35-year career with the Monsanto Company. There, he participated in the early introduction of polymeric materials and undertook several technical management positions with Monsanto. Gigliotti was involved in some of the industry’s key market development and commercialization activities. Following his early retirement in 1977, he co-founded TopWave Instruments, a manufacturer of plastics container inspection and testing equipment, and established MGA, Incorporated, an international technical management consultancy.
Some of the more significant plastic innovations developed or managed by Gigliotti include:
• Created and managed Monsanto’s Structural Plastics Engineering Group (SPEG), which carried out pioneering prototyping and commercialization programs for plastics in automotive, pipe, building construction, and furniture applications. SPEG also spearheaded the plastics industry efforts, which modified restrictive building and appliance codes, enabling the greater use of plastic products in those applications.
• Created and managed the Monsanto House of the Future project in 1957, the world’s first all-plastic house featured at the entrance to Disneyland’s Tomorrowland for ten years.
• Created and managed Monsanto’s Low-Oxygen-Permeation Packaging Program, jointly with Coca-Cola, which introduced the world’s first plastic carbonated beverage bottle in 1969.
• His international consulting practice was organizing conferences, trade missions, and/or tours for plastics industry associations in South Africa, Finland, Australia, China, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand. MGA served clients in more than 22 countries.
• Gigliotti is well known for his volunteer efforts with many organizations, including the Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS); the National Plastics Center & Museum, where he was a founding director; the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where he served on the Plastics Engineering Departments Advisory Board; the Plastics Institute of America, where he was a leader in the reinvigoration of the organization and its relocation to University of Massachusetts Lowell; and with many local community activities, including serving as the President of the Gloucester Rotary Club.
Areas of Expertise:
Plastic materials, Plastics management
Related Links:
Obituary: http://www.gloucestertimes.com/obituaries/x712195855/Michael-F-X-Gigliotti-Sr-88/print