Glenn L. Beall
Glenn Beall Plastics, Ltd
Inducted 1997
Glenn Beall is an engineer, consultant, educator, and editor who played a key role in the advancement of plastics design. He has been extremely active in many plastics engineering associations throughout his career. Widely recognized for his contribution to plastics design, Glenn Beall served in many roles: engineer, inventor, consultant, educator, editor, author, and industry activist.
Beall entered the plastics industry after receiving his Bachelor of Science degree from Bradley University in 1957. As an engineer in the research division of Abbott Laboratories from 1958 to 1968, he developed medical devices, receiving twelve patents. He obtained 23 more patents for medical and other products while operating his own company, Glenn Beall Engineering, Inc., from 1968 to 1993. In 1993 he formed Glenn Beall Plastics, Ltd., Libertyville, Illinois.
In 1993, Beall received the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Plastics Education from the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), which cited his work as an instructor on design and other aspects of technology. Beall lectured for SPE, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), the Association of Rotational Molders (ARM), and other associations; as well as many companies and universities. It is estimated that he has conducted over 650 seminars for nearly 30,000 people. Beall has also been a proponent of rotational molding. He joined the Association of Rotational Molders in 1980 and has played an important role in disseminating information about this growing method of processing plastics.
Beall served as an editorial advisor for plastics engineering handbooks and textbooks, was the design editor for Plastics Design Forum magazine for 14 years, and has served as a contributing editor of Injection Molding and Kunststoffe magazines. He has also published more than 50 technical papers and articles.
Since joining SPE in 1960 and the Society of the Plastics Industry (now PLASTICS) in 1969, active in both organizations, Mr. Beall has held numerous regional and national positions as a board member, officer, or committee chairperson, as well as serving often as a committee member, conference speaker, or competition judge. In 1985, Beall was made a Fellow of SPE and was elected distinguished member in 1990; in 1995, SPE named its International Product Design Award in his honor.
Areas of Expertise:
Plastics Product Design & Development, Plastics processing, Plastics education