Ohio inventions and firsts · Invention · 1933-1938
Fiberglas insulation
Games Slayter applied for a glass-wool patent in 1933 at Owens-Illinois in Toledo; in 1938 he became vice-president of research of the new Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation.
At a glance
- Year
- 1933-1938
- Company
- Owens-Corning Fiberglas
- Place
- Toledo, Lucas County ZIP 43604 · Toledo · Lucas County
The story
Houses leak heat, and cold in the winter and heat in the summer cost money. Glass spun into fine fibers traps air and slows heat, but making that fiber in quantity was a problem.
Games Slayter, a chemical engineer who graduated from Purdue in 1921, joined Owens-Illinois Glass in Toledo in 1931. He applied for a patent in 1933 on a new method of making glass wool, the start of fiberglass technology.
In 1935 Owens-Illinois and Corning Glass Works formed a joint venture, and by 1938 the Owens-Corning Fiberglas Company was independent with headquarters in Toledo. Slayter became its vice-president for research and development. Sales in 1938 were $2.6 million.
The company later dyed its insulation pink to stand out and in 1986 trademarked the color, the first company to do so. It filed for bankruptcy in 2000 because of asbestos lawsuits, having settled claims with about 440,000 people.
Timeline
- 1931: Games Slayter joins Owens-Illinois Glass in Toledo. (Toledo, OH) source
- 1933: Slayter applies for a patent on glass wool production. (Toledo, OH) source
- 1935: Owens-Illinois and Corning form a joint venture. (Toledo, OH) source
- 1938: Owens-Corning Fiberglas becomes independent; Slayter is named head of research. (Toledo, OH) source
- 1952: Owens-Corning goes public on the New York Stock Exchange. (New York) source
- 1986: The color pink is trademarked through Owens-Corning. (Toledo, OH) source
- 2000: Owens Corning files for Chapter 11 because of asbestos-related lawsuits. (Toledo, OH) source
What it changed
- First-year revenue was $2.6 million in 1938.
- In Fortune 500 continuously since 1955.
Why it matters
Mass-produced glass insulation.
Who gets the credit is disputed
The Ohio claim. Games Slayter applied for a glass-wool patent in 1933 while at Owens-Illinois in Toledo, and in 1938 he became vice-president of research at the new Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation.
The other claims. Owens-Illinois and Corning worked together on the product, and other Owens-Illinois researchers, such as Dale Kleist, also worked on the steam-blown glass-fiber process.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
