“History of the PET Bottle” by Dr. Tom Brady was Exhibited at the 2023 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

Dr. Tom Brady’s “History of the PET Bottle” was displayed at the 2023 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, which was held at the University of Southern California last April 22-23, 2023. The book display was made possible by self-publishing and book marketing company ReadersMagnet.

“History of the PET Bottle” tells the story of the business empire behind PET bottles. It follows the development of the PET bottle industry from 1972 until the modern day and captures Dr. Tom Brady’s desire to share the history of the packaging product industry with his many former colleagues around the world who created this industry.

PET bottles or polyethylene terephthalate bottles are drink containers that package 70% of carbonated drinks, fruit juices, and bottled water in the market. As the most recyclable plastic on the planet, PET bottles pride their durability, lightness, safety, and smaller carbon footprint than alternatives.

Due to qualities that include transparency, gas and water barrier properties, UV resistance, impact strength, lightweight, and durability compared to glass bottles, PET bottles perform well and are the preferred packaging container.

Using PET bottles can reduce waste plastic usage since these containers are highly recyclable and PET bottles do not contain carcinogenic or toxic additives.

The book offers factual information about how PET bottles came to be and how they now dominate the packaging industry. The author provides knowledge on how the bottles can impact a greener earth compared to other types of packaging materials that are in the market.

Readers can learn more about PET bottles by purchasing “History of the PET Bottle” by Dr. Tom Brady on Amazon, or from Barnes & Noble, and BookBaby.

“History of the PET Bottle”
Author| Dr. Tom Brady
Published Date| August 10, 2022
Publisher| BookBaby
Genre| Business History

Author’s Biography

Dr. Brady is one of the pioneers of the modern PET packaging industry. He began his career carrying out fundamental research on plastic packaging technology and led the commercialization of PET bottle technology at Owens-Illinois, before leaving to found Plastic Technologies, Inc. (PTI) and six other packaging-related companies that have continued to lead the development and commercialization of PET packaging.

Over a period of 40 years, Dr. Brady and his colleagues have received more than 150 patents relating to PET packaging and recycling and “many of the products you buy every day are sold in plastic containers designed by one of the PTI companies,” he told Plastics News.

After graduating from the University of Michigan with a PhD in Plastic Materials Engineering, Dr. Brady joined Owens-Illinois, Inc. as a Senior Scientist in 1972, just as the carbonated soft drink companies were asking their suppliers to create and offer family-size carbonated beverage containers, which required an industry-wide conversion from glass and aluminum to plastic.

As a result, and over a short 10-year period, Dr. Brady and his colleagues, along with other industry plastic package suppliers, created an entirely new industry to supply sustainable PET packaging to the beverage, food, and personal care product brand owners.

When Owens-Illinois began questioning its involvement in plastic packaging because plastic was beginning to impact its glass container business, Dr. Brady and many of his R&D colleagues who had helped to diversify Owens-Illinois’ business portfolio left the company to either start or operate other major businesses which helped to transform the entire packaging industry.

Dr. Brady has written and published three books to capture his entire 50 year career in plastic packaging, including a) “The Impact of Owens-Illinois on the World” which tells the stories of thirty former O-I employees who, without competing with Owens-Illinois, employed their talents to create or nurture many dynamic and successful business enterprises, b) "“History of the PET Bottle”” which tells the story of the development of the PET bottle from 1972 until today, and c) “Plastic Technologies, Inc. - Our Story” which captures the contributions of hundreds of PTI and PTI Company employees and owners to the plastic packaging industry over the past 38 years.

Contact Information

Elizabeth Patino

Author Relations Officer

ReadersMagnet LLC.

authorrelations@readersmagnet.com