Bekum founder Gottfried Mehnert dies at 87

Extrusion blow molding pioneer Gottfried Mehnert, who founded Bekum Group, died Aug. 1 at the age of 87. 

Mehnert developed his first blow molding machine when he was just 21, then went on to found Bekum Maschinenfabriken GmbH in 1959 in Berlin. At that time, blow molders often inflated and shaped the extruded parison from the bottom. Mehnert revolutionized that process by developing a method for blowing the bottle from the top, making possible tight closures for bottle caps. 

According to Bekum, Mehnert also helped further innovations involving the blow molding of PVC bottles for water and edible oil, and he was involved in the invention of the world's first double-sided shuttle machine. In the 1970s, he helped transform the well-known co-extrusion process, involving three layers, into a six-layer process, opening up new markets for oxygen-sensitive products and diffusion-tight fuel tanks.  

In 1985 he was recognized with the SPE Blow Molding Division's Lifetime Achievement Award, and was a 2006 Plastics Hall of Fame inductee. 

Mehnert placed the management and shares of the Bekum Group in the hands of his youngest son, Michael, six years ago. According to Bekum, “[Gottfried] Mehnert was a dynamic and tireless pioneer in the service of the plastics industry to the end, to which he dedicated more than 60 years of his life.” 

Since its founding, Bekum has supplied more than 18,000 machines to plants in more than 100 countries, and earned more than 40 patents.