Garland B. Jennings
B.F. Goodrich
Inducted 1994
Garland Jennings (1910 – 2004) has been called the “father of the rigid polyvinyl chloride (PVC) industry” in this country. His work in process and product development enabled rigid PVC to produce pipe, electrical conduit, building siding, window profiles/components, film, sheet, and packaging products. The importance of Jennings’ work can best be realized by looking back on the products replaced by rigid PVC and chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) and what these new vinyl products have contributed to the construction and packaging industries.
Born in Watertown, Tennessee, Jennings received his B.S. degree from Cumberland University of Tennessee in 1933 and his M.S. degree from Vanderbilt University in 1935. By the late 1940s, he worked as a development chemist in the Chemical Division of the B.F. Goodrich Company in Cleveland, Ohio, where he identified applications for both flexible and rigid PVC compositions. His co-workers have described Jennings as having that “rare genius for finding answers for intractable problems.”
His research and development work with his associate C.E. Parks led to the development of processing aids that permitted converting PVC materials into rigid shapes without the unwanted loss of physical and chemical properties. Six B.F. Goodrich patents related to PVC formulations and processing were issued to Jennings and his colleagues C.E. Parks and G.J. Kliner.
Areas of Expertise:
Plastic materials