Polypropylene, inventor

It is important to begin producing this additive as soon as possible. This is because die discovery of something new is frequently made by two or more independent investigators at about the same time, and the first producer sets the standards and gets the markets. In 1969 four chemical companies Standard Oil Co. (Indiana), DuPont, Phillips Petroleum, and Montecatini-Edison, were all claiming to be the inventor of polypropylene. At that time, the U.S. Patent Office had still not decided who would get the U.S. patent, even though the work had been done over 10 years before.5 Finally in December 1971 Montecatini-Edison received the patent. 

THE ENTRY INTO PETROCHEMICALS Because the early 1950s were a period of rapid innovation in polymer/petrochemical technology, Hercules was able to build a new learning base in that industry and become a first mover in one of the most versatile of the new commodities, polypropylene (PP). Its strategy was excellent. The company worked closely with European inventors and companies that, like Hercules, had not been involved in the new technology s wartime development. After pioneering the invention of a new process for phenol resins, it joined with Britain s Distillers Company to commercialize and license the process. Its first plant came on-stream in 1952.4... 

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