Charles W. Kleiderer
Shaw Plastics Corporation
Inducted 1994
Charles W. Kleiderer (1916 – 1999) made major contributions to the plastics industry and during World War II, especially contributions related to his development of new plastics to support the “variable time” (VT) fuse that enabled artillery shells to explode within a predetermined distance from their target.
After receiving his B.S. in chemistry from Western Kentucky University in 1937, Kleiderer became a plastics researcher. In 1940, Kleiderer and three other researchers were developing new plastic materials at the Office of Scientific Research and Development at Johns Hopkins University. At the time, no known plastic could withstand the tremendous forces exerted when an artillery shell was fired. The U.S. Navy recruited Kleiderer to develop new plastics that would meet the rigid electrical and mechanical requirements of the VT fuse, and in time, a new material, named ethyl cellulose, was developed jointly with the Hercules Powder Company. A derivative of ethyl cellulose was also developed and patented by Kleiderer, named “Cliderite,” to be used as a sealer for the fuse that generated the power to trigger the firing mechanism.
Following the development of the material, the mass production of the fuse for the war effort became Kleiderer’s next major challenge. He was responsible for the development of tooling, equipment and facilities, production, quality control, delivery of the fuses to the various locations of operations, and training of civilian and military personnel in the proper use and production of the fuses. For his wartime efforts, Kleiderer was awarded the U.S. Navy Bureau of Ordnance Award, the Naval Development Award, the Office of Scientific Research Certificate of Merit, the Army and Navy Certificates of Appreciation, and the War Manpower Commission Committee Diploma on Scientific Research.
Following the war, he became vice-president of Brilhart Plastics Corporation and president of Penn Plastics Corporation. At his retirement, he was executive vice-president of the Shaw Plastics Corporation. Kleiderer was active in the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) and several other plastics organizations. He served as chairman of the National Plastics Exposition Companies Committee of the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI, now PLASTICS), and was president of the Plastics Pioneers.
Areas of Expertise:
Plastic materials, Plastics Processing