PET History
“Polyethylene terephthalate" (also called PET or PETE) was patented in 1941 by British chemists John Rex Whinfield and James Tennant Dickson, employees of the Calico Printer's Association of Manchester. In the 1970s, with new applications for high-viscosity PET and its commercial attractiveness, Buhler AG began to develop the chemical technologies for cost-effective processing of this material.Being the end link in the polymer manufacturing chain, Buhler always worked with the companies that converted PET into consumer products. This association aided in the development of Buhler’s unique processing technology to convert amorphous, low-viscosity PET into the high-viscosity, crystalline material with the desired properties and molecular structure – the very characteristics that now enable PET to be converted into top-quality end products with the utmost safety and economy.
More than 100 international patents were won for the technology and equipment. Specialists at Buhler include internationally renowned scientists, authors of college textbooks and members of various international legislative committees.
