Michael Owens and the Glass Industry - Hardcover

Skrabec Jr., Quentin

9781589803855: Michael Owens and the Glass Industry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 158980385X ISBN 13: 9781589803855

Publisher: Pelican Publishing, 2006

The first comprehensive biography of the visionary and craftsman who defined the modern glass industry. With nine companies and 49 patents bearing his name, Michael J. Owens is a paradoxically inconspicuous influence on daily life. His invention of the Owens Bottle Machine revolutionized the container industry, making mass-marketed food and beverages both sanitary and consistently proportioned. A big-picture, true-to-life Horatio Alger character, his automated inventions were vital to electric lighting, food and beverage packaging, advanced optics, and automotive safety. The reduction of child labor was a direct and significant outcome of his inventions. Born in 1859 to an Irish West Virginian mining family, Owens, himself a child laborer, ultimately became known as the father of project management. Quentin Skrabec�s engaging account is the first biography on this unpretentious, resourceful, colorful, and dynamic industrialist and inventor.

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From the Inside Flap:

Michael J. Owens' innovations in mass-produced glass paved the way for modern conveniences in use today. His invention, the Owens Bottle Machine, transformed the American diet by standardizing and sanitizing food and beverage containers. His automated inventions were vital to electric lighting, advanced optics, and automotive safety, as well as the reduction of child labor.

In this first biography of the unassuming visionary, artist, and craftsman, a historical account of glass making sets the stage for Owens, born in 1859 to an Irish West Virginian mining family. With nine companies and forty-nine patents bearing his name, Michael Owens ultimately became known as the father of project management. This is an engaging account of this unpretentious, resourceful, and dynamic industrialist and inventor, who began as a glass blower.

Quentin R. Skrabec's long list of academic degrees includes a Ph.D. in manufacturing management from the University of Toledo, an M.S. in metallurgical and industrial engineering from Ohio State University, an M.S./B.S. in management, operations, systems, and organizational leadership as well as an M.B.A. in business administration, organizational leadership, and behavior from Robert Morris University, and a B.S. in materials engineering from the University of Michigan. He has written over fifty articles and five books on history, industrial history, and business. Dr. Skrabec is a professor at the University of Findlay and is a sought-after speaker for management conferences, having appeared at over thirty national gatherings.

From the Back Cover:

He stands next to Thomas Edison in the pantheon of inventors. Commercial products stamped with his name are ubiquitous in modern life. His inventions are directly responsible for safety glass in car windshields and consistently proportioned medicine jars. His designs have changed the way we illuminate a dark room and buy pasteurized milk. Michael J. Owens has left an indelible mark in human history, yet his name often has been overlooked publicly, until now.

Michael Owens was a driven but unassuming man who shunned the spotlight, wanting only to create. In this first biography of a visionary, artist, and craftsman, Quentin R. Skrabec's research has uncovered a resourceful, colorful, and dynamic industrialist and inventor. This insightful account sets the stage for Owens by going back to the beginning--the history of glass as an art form. Today, his flourishing legacy includes Owens-Corning, employing twenty thousand people worldwide.

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