Lifetime Achievement Award

The Blow Molding Division's Lifetime Achievement Award, the Division's highest award, is bestowed upon an individual who has demonstrated outstanding achievements and contributions to the business, science and technical engineering aspects in the field of blow molding.

The awardee is selected by the Blow Molding Division's Board of Directors from nominees sponsored by the members of the Society of Plastics Engineers and include a consideration of the candidate’s professional record inside and outside of the industry and the continuing effects the candidate’s work has had in the industry. The awardee is presented with an engraved plaque during the Awards Program and Reception at the Annual Blow Molding Conference and a donation in their name is made to the Division’s Grant Fund.

   2025 Honoree

  Harald Feuerherm
Founder and Inventor

Harald Feuerherm stands for technological pioneering, unwavering innovative spirit, and an extraordinary professional lifetime achievement that has left a lasting mark on plastics processing. His career is a striking example of how a clear vision, creativity, and perseverance can come together to form a success story.


Following an apprenticeship as a machine fitter, economic constraints initially prevented him from pursuing higher education. Nevertheless, he showed an early passion for technology and innovation. Through determination, he managed to begin studying mechanical engineering, which he completed with outstanding results.


Early in his professional life, Harald attracted attention with his creative ideas. As early as 1968, he filed several patents, including the principle of the FIFO accumulator head (First-In-First-Out), which proved to be a commercially significant innovation. However, his most significant contribution came in the 1970s: he developed the Partial Wall Distribution System (PWDS®), an innovative technology that revolutionized blow molding.


The PWDS® system enabled more precise control of wall thickness in plastic hollow bodies, leading to improved product quality and manufacturing efficiency. Patented in 1976, the system has had a transformative impact on industry. To this day, his invention serves as a foundational technology for a wide range of applications in the packaging and automotive industry.


Less well known, but equally impressive, is his athletic career: As a young man, he achieved national-level success in athletics and was invited to train for the 1964 Olympic Games. His decision to forgo participation in favor of his studies clearly demonstrated his priorities—and paved the way for his future path.


Today - half a century after registering his formative inventions - Harald Feuerherm is regarded as a symbol of pioneering spirit whose ideas have had a lasting impact. His developments not only set new standards in blow molding technology but also show how perseverance, technical curiosity, and personal resolve can lead to sustainable innovation. His work continues to inspire - far beyond his own field of expertise.

Past Honorees

2023 — Ferruccio Giacobbe, Owner and General Manager, MAGIC SpA

2022 — Mel O'Leary, Jr.., President and CEO, Meredith-Springfield Associates Inc.

2021 — Robert Schoeneck, Founder and Owner, Schoeneck Containers, Inc.

2019 — Lewis E. Ferguson, Founder and Owner, PARISONS

2018 — Thomas Pecorini,Technology Fellow and Dr. Emmett Crawford, Research Associate, Eastman

2017  — Marcel de Botton, President, Logoplaste ( click here for photos from ABC 2017 Awards Program )

2016 — Bob Jackson, Founder, Jackson Machinery, Inc.

2015 — Stephen Spence, Founder, Spentech Plastic Container, Inc.

2014 — Robert Kleckauskas, President , Arrow Plastic Manufacturing Company

2013 — Carl D. Ring, Chairman, Ring Container Technologies

2012 — Donald C. Graham, Founder, The Graham Group

2011 — Frank G. Hohmann, Founder, FGH Systems Inc.

2010 — Brooks Heise Sr., Founder, Heise Industries

2009 — Thomas E. Brady, Founder, Plastics Technologies, Inc.

2008 — Richard Smith, Founder and Owner, Agri-Industrial Plastics Company

2007 — William Gaiser, Founder and Owner, Broadway Companies Inc.

2006 — Martin Stark, President, Bekum America Corporation

2005 — Dr. Saleh Jabarin, Director, Polymer Institute - University of Toledo

2004 — Robert Delong, Solvay Polymers Corporation

2003 — Michael Gigliotti, Monsanto Plastics

2002 — Robert Slawska, Founder, Proven Technologies

2001 — Ralph Abramo, Founder and Owner, R. J. Abramo Associates

2000 — Willi Muller, Founder, W. Muller KG

1999 — Fred Biesecker, Founder and CEO, Drug Plastics

1998 — Cliff Baker, Uniloy

1997 — Mike Schmidt, CEO and Founder, ABC Group - Rexdale, Ontario

1996 — Jerome S. Heisler, President, Delaware Barrel & Drum and Container Corp. of America

1995 — Sam Belcher, Founder and President, Sabel Plastechs, Inc.

1994 — Yataro Yoshino, Founder and President, Yoshino Kogyosho - Tokyo

1993 — John W. Raymonds, Founder, Captive Plastics

1992 — John Szajna, Elmer Mills / Con Can

1991 — Dewey Rainville, Founder and President, Rainville Injection Blow Machines

1990 — Don Peters, Phillips Chemical Co.

1989 — Frank Wheaton, Wheaton Plastics

1988 — Katashi Aoki, Founder and CEO, Nissei Plastics/Aoki Technical Laboratories, Japan

1987 — Dennis Hunkar, Founder, Hunkar Company

1986 — Sam Rupert, Uniloy

1985 — Gottfried Mehnert, CEO and Founder, Bekum Machinery Co. - Berlin, Germany

1984 — Charles Sewell, CEO and Founder, Sewell Plastics and CKS Plastics