Gottfried Mehnert
Bekum America Corporation
Inducted 2006
Mr. Mehnert (1935 – 2022) was a pioneer in the plastics industry, and through his vision and ingenuity, he has played a significant role in the writing of blow molding technology history. In 1958, Mr. Mehnert established Bekum Maschinenfabriken GmbH in Berlin, Germany, and through his leadership, the company developed into a world leader in blow molding machinery.
At the age of twenty, Gottfried Mehnert designed his first blow molding machine and has applied his ingenuity and vision to advance the development of blow molding technology ever since. Perhaps best known as the founder (with his brother Horst) of Bekum in 1958 (at 23), Mehnert has been responsible for several other industrially significant technological developments that have resulted in more than 40 patents worldwide.
Educated as a toolmaker, he has grown Bekum from one plant to multiple plants internationally. The company now manufactures a wide range of blow molding machinery, including injection, stretch, extrusion, and coextrusion blow molders.
As an industry innovator, Mr. Mehnert has been responsible for countless technological developments which have resulted in more than 40 patents worldwide, including the first neck finish calibration (1959) and inside neck dimensioning, PVC blow molding for edible oils (the 1960s), the first high output twin station blow molding machine (1963), six-layer co-extrusion (1970), tiebarless mold closing system (1987), the first continuous co-extrusion head for producing automotive fuel tanks (1991-92), as well as numerous other innovations in extrusion blow molding over the past 48 years.
Mr. Mehnert’s dedication to simplicity of design, technological advancement, and quality of machinery has made Bekum a benchmark for reliability and innovation and has established Mehnert as a significant contributor to the plastics industry.
Areas of Expertise:
Plastic blow molding machinery
Related Links:
http://bekumamerica.com/gottfried-mehnert-plastics-hall-of-fame/