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.
2026 Honoree
Mridula (Babli) Kapur
Principal R&D Fellow (Retired)
Dow
Mridula (Babli) Kapur, Principal R&D Fellow, recently retired from Dow after nearly 35 years of distinguished service. Her Dow journey began in Dow Iberica, Spain, followed by roles in Dow Benelux in the Netherlands, and ultimately Texas Operations in the United States. Throughout her career, Babli’s technical leadership and scientific insight have influenced every dimension of Dow’s broad polyolefins portfolio.
Babli played a pivotal role in advancing the polyolefins business through materials‑science‑driven innovation, portfolio expansion, and differentiated product development. Her impact spans the full arc of technology creation—from concept to commercialization. A notable example is her development of a novel multifunctional product quality control analyzer, now deployed globally across all Dow polyethylene manufacturing plants. She has designed resins across the entire polyethylene spectrum, enabling flexible and rigid packaging, durable goods, pipe, and automotive applications.
Babli was instrumental in shaping Dow’s global gas‑phase asset and technology strategy and was the driving force for the multi‑generation gas‑phase polyethylene technology roadmap, integrating both catalyst and product innovation, including the development of a comprehensive blow molding product portfolio. In recent years, she led the Safer Materials R&D initiative, encompassing Substances of Concern, Microplastics, and Recycling Stewardship. This requires not only new material development but also expanding analytical, digital, and predictive capabilities and fostering external cross‑sector collaborations that directly support societal plastics concerns, circular economy needs, and science‑based policy development.
Babli’s passion for scientific innovation extends well beyond Dow. Her collaborations with academia, government, technical societies, and trade associations reflect her commitment to advancing the field and mentoring the next generation of professionals. Texas A&M University’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering recently honored her with the Legacy of Service Award for her sustained contributions marked by integrity, leadership, and excellence.
Babli holds a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Texas A&M University, College Station, and is a Fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers. She has coauthored more than 180 internal technical reports, delivered numerous external presentations, and published widely. Her portfolio includes 55 granted U.S. patents. Babli's achievements have been recognized through prestigious honors such as the 2022 American Chemical Society Heroes of Chemistry Award and the 2024 Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers Career Achievement Award.
Past Honorees
2025 — Harald Feuerherm, Founder and Inventor, Feuerherm GmbH
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