Carl G. Hagberg received the Heinz List Award at the Society of Plastics Engineers annual meeting in Chicago in June. Established in 2006, the Heinz List Award, sponsored by LIST USA recognizes an individual that has contributed outstanding achievement in the area of polymerization reactions and polymer devolatilization technologies. The award honors the pioneering contributions and innovations that were made by Heinz List during his long career.
Dr. Carl G. Hagberg has been a leader in the design and commercialization of reactor, devolatilization and twin screw extruder technology for the plastics industry. He designed reactors and the falling strand flash tank devolatilizer for the first continuous mass Polystyrene plant for Monsanto, which was licensed in fifteen plants around the world. Dr. Hagberg’s career, spanning over 40 years includes working at two of the most prominent companies in the extrusion industry – Monsanto Chemical Co. and NFM/Welding Engineers, and his accomplishments have garnered him some of the most prestigious recognitions, receiving more than ten awards for his contributions. Dr. Hagberg holds two patents for Falling Strand Devolatilization Process and Apparatus. He has written more than 12 papers and publications.
We congratulate Carl G. Hagberg for this well-deserved recognition.
Why Heinz List? During World War II, BAYER-Werk, part of the former IG Farben Company (IG Farben was founded on December 25, 1925 as a merger of six companies including BASF, Bayer, Hoechst, and Agfa), initiated research to explore screw technology in mixing and kneading applications. Three men who served on that committee would go on to become the founding fathers of modern processing technology.
Rudolph Erdmenger would later develop the co-rotating twinscrew machine, the forerunner of Werner & Pfleiderer’s ZSK-Extruder. Siegried Kiesskalt went on to pioneer special counter rotating screw extruder designs that formed the basis for the Leistritz line.
A third committee member, Heinz List, was assigned the study of “special designs”. It was here that he first developed the concept for a single-screw-machine that combined oscillation with screw rotation. This design ultimately evolved into the continuously operating BUSS Ko-Kneader (System List). Coincidentally, the introduction of the Ko-Kneader corresponded with the rapid development of the plastics industry. To date, over 3000 Ko-Kneader systems have been sold worldwide.
During this time, Heinz List also became the first engineer to seriously explore the feasibility of solid-fluid reactions. Until then, such reactions were thought to be impractical due to the highly viscous and solid phases. List, however, believed that the answer lay in developing technology for concentrated, solvent-free processes.
In 1966, Heinz List established his own company to further develop the field of high-viscosity processing. Heinz List established the LIST Group based the following:
- Machines that can handle multiple phase changes (wet, pasty, viscous, powdery, granular) in one working step provide maximum energy efficiency and process yield.
- Future processing technology will depend on machines that can efficiently handle large working volumes, are self-cleaning, offer a wide range of residence times, and exhibit excellent mixing and kneading performance during wet, pasty and viscous phases.
It was this thinking that led List to develop the Mixing Kneader Technology, a new generation of processing technology. In 1969, the AP (All Phases) system was developed and was the first twin shaft machine. In 1972, the company reached another milestone with the development of the single-shaft DISCOTHERM-B.
In 1988, Heinz List passed away and leadership of the company was transferred to his two sons who began adapting and applying their father’s pioneering work for new industries. In the 1990’s, the company expanded from the chemical industry into the polymer, fiber, and food industries. Today LIST is world leader in numerous industries, including TDI, Sugar Replacer, ABS, Fiber Spinning Solutions, SAP (Super Absorbent Polymers), and EPDM.
Both Rudolf Erdmenger and Heinz List are members of the Polymer Processing Hall of Fame at the University of Akron, USA.
With a U.S. office in Charlotte, North Carolina, LIST is the worldwide technology leader and forerunner in dry or concentrated processing focusing on processes that operate without the use of solvents. LIST develops and implements innovative solutions that are effective, efficient, reliable, safe, and environmentally friendly.
