Edwin L. Hobson
Aladdin Synergetics Incorporated
Inducted 2002
Two innovations of the 1930s resulted in a quantum leap in the growth of the plastics industry, namely: (i) the development of the injection molding process, which made it possible to produce plastic parts at a higher output rate than ever before, and (ii) polystyrene, the first large-volume commodity thermoplastic. Edwin Hobson (1915 – 1999), known as ‘Hobby’ during his plastics career of more than six decades, was a leader in adopting both innovations in the U.S.
In 1938, Hobson became the first sales engineer for a thermoplastic resin product line when the Bakelite Company, the original supplier of phenolic resins, diversified into polystyrene. He worked with customers to develop injection molding techniques for polystyrene parts as diverse as combs, costume jewelry, and liquor-pouring spouts. This experience led him to write the first technical manual on thermoplastic molding techniques for inclusion in Bakelite’s “Industry Standard” Manual on Molding.
During World War II, as a major in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps, Hobson headed the plastics section of the military Planning Division of the office of the Quartermaster General. He received the Legion of Merit Award from the U.S. Secretary of War for “conceiving, developing, and being personally responsible for the vital role played by plastic materials in World War II.” Hobson’s tours of the plastics industries of Britain and Germany after the war resulted in the transfer of valuable technical information to the industry in the U.S. His findings from Germany, published in German Plastics Practice by John DeBell, contributed to the postwar plastics boom in the United States.
In 1968, Hobson retired from the Monsanto Company and co-founded Aladdin Synergetics Incorporated in Nashville, Tennessee, to manufacture plastic food-service systems for hospitals and airlines. In the 1980s, he founded another company, Abanaki, to produce components for industrial belts.
Areas of Expertise:
Plastic machinery, Plastics materials