He founded Husky in rented space in an Esso garage in Toronto in 1953, and the company originally built the Huskymobile snowmobile. The commercial interest in this product was limited, however – it was considered too heavy to skim over the snow – causing the business focus to change from snowmobile manufacturing to toolmaking, making tools, dies, and fixtures for others. Husky Moulds got its first piece of business when Amalgamated Electric Corp. placed an order for an electrical component mold.

Schad retired from Husky in 2005 and sold the company in 2007, but wasn’t done with the industry yet – in 2008, on the cusp of turning 80, he founded injection molding machine maker Athena Automation, in Vaughan, Ont. Athena developed a rugged, accurate, and flexible two-platen machine platform, and then changed its name to Niigon Machines Ltd. in 2018. But the company struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic and went out of business in 2021.

Under Schad’s guidance, Husky became one of plastics’ most dominant injection molding machine makers, especially in the PET preform and closures market, with manufacturing plants in Canada, the U.S., Luxembourg, and China. The company eventually grew to have sales of $1 billion, 3,350 employees, and 1,600 patents.

Robert Schad, the founder of Husky Injection Molding Systems and one of the most famous entrepreneurs in Canadian plastics history, died in Toronto on July 11 at age 95.

“Robert’s leadership and foresight were instrumental in setting new standards for quality and efficiency in plastics manufacturing,” Husky’s vice president Wassim F. Labban said in a LinkedIn post. “His dedication to sustainable practices set the stage for an environmentally responsible manufacturing, long before sustainability became a global imperative…and his approach based on value and customer engagement set new benchmarks in building global brand success and recognition.”

Japan’s Polyplastics (based out of Farmington Hills, MI, in the United States) is reporting strong global demand for its high-sliding grades of Duracon polyacetal (POM; polyoxymethylene) resin, which are based on the company’s leading-edge noise reduction technology. These materials are specially designed for plastic gears and bearings for audio visual, office automation systems, home appliances, and automotive components.

For his contributions to the plastics sector, Schad was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame in 2006 – the first Canadian to receive the honour. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Plastics Academy in 2003, and was named to the Order of Canada in 2010.

Polyplastics’ line of high sliding grades includes Duracon POM NW-02, an all-purpose material with both the advantages of polyethylene (PE) alloy type and non-alloy type grades. It is the highest-selling among the high sliding grades suitable for various conditions and applications and used in many industries including office automation and automotive.

Duracon POM SW-01 is an alloy type grade that is suitable for high-pressure sliding conditions. It has won success in the automotive industry for such components as bearings and cams whose requirements cannot be filled by conventional noise reduction grades. Duracon POM LW-02 is a non-alloy type grade which was recently developed to meet the more stringent requirements of office automation (OA) component and equipment manufacturers in the areas of wear, fatigue, and noise. LW-02 is suitable for OA gears whose mating materials are often unfilled resins such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and high-impact polystyrene (HIPS). It is experiencing strong sales growth in the Japanese office automation market. Duracon POM JW-03 is a non-alloy type grade that was developed for improved gear dimensional accuracy.

Superior strength and stiffness in a temperature range of 60° to 80°C are among the attributes leveraged in such applications.

Born in Karlsruhe, Germany in 1928, Schad trained as a tool and die maker and then emigrated to Canada in 1951, arriving with $25 in his pocket and a letter of reference from family friend Albert Einstein.

Duracon POM commands about a 60% share of the Japanese POM resin market, and roughly 30% of the global market according to Polyplastics. Noise reduction grades account for approximately 6% of the total sales volume of Duracon POM.

Schad also founded Husky’s hot runner division in Milton, Vt., which became an industry leader in hot runners for high-cavitation injection molds.

Schad was also a noted philanthropist, donating some $200 million to various initiatives over the course of his lifetime. He also created the Schad Foundation in 1987, which supports projects focused on solutions to environmental problems; founded Earth Rangers, a wildlife refuge and outdoor education interpretive centre for children; and was a major benefactor for the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and Schad Clinic.

Among crystallized resins, POM is used in the majority of gear applications instead of resins such as PA and PBT due to its superior strength and stiffness in a temperature range of 60°C to 80°C (140°F to 176°F), which is typical for office automation and automotive applications.

By 1957, Schad had moved Husky into a 12,000-square-foot facility, where it produced molds and dies for high-production applications. Schad thought that molding machines of the time were too slow to run his molds at their full potential, so he designed and built his own high-speed injection molding machine. The company had found its niche and grew rapidly, being renamed as Husky Injection Molding Systems, and supplying high-speed molding machinery to customers in more than 100 countries from its headquarters in Bolton, Ont.

Stephen has been with PlasticsToday and its preceding publications Modern Plastics and Injection Molding since 1992, throughout this time based in the Asia Pacific region, including stints in Japan, Australia, and his current location Singapore. His current beat focuses on automotive. Stephen is an avid folding bicycle rider, often taking his bike on overseas business trips, and is a proud dachshund owner.

POM is used widely in the automotive and office automation equipment markets on account of its low noise and high stiffness, among other traits.