PRINDLE, KARL E. - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

PRINDLE KARL E. (10 Dec. 1902 - 13 Oct.1998) was twenty-four when he developed moisture-proof cellophane for DuPont in the mid-1920s. He was born in Charlotte, Vermont, to Carrie and Edwin H. Prindle, a lumberman at a sawmill. In 1925, Prindle graduated from Oberlin College. Prindle worked for DuPont after college until he began working for Dobeckmun Co. of Cleveland, now Dow Chemical, in 1932.

Prindle's first project for the company was to develop improved machine-applied adhesives for the new cellophane bags the company manufactured. During World War II, he headed a research group from the Dobeckmun Co. of Cleveland which created types of packaging, electrical insulation and other technical specialties required for urgent military use. Mr. Prindle developed unit packaging for the Army Quartermaster Corps. He also developed Lurex, a non-tarnishable metallic thread used in fabric, and zip tape, the cellophane strip used for opening packages of chewing gum and cigarettes. He was named vice president in charge of product development for Dobeckman in 1945 and retired from Dow Chemical in 1968. In 1971, he was named "Man of the Year" by the Flexible Packaging Institute.

Prindle married Marry Rymers in 1930. They had two daughters, Anne Johnson and Janet Prindle. Prindle died in Breckenridge Village Fairmount Health Center in Willoughby, Ohio, and is buried in Charlotte, Vermont.

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