From accidental discovery to worldwide acceptance
The world’s most versatile plastic had a rather humble beginning: A rubber scientist during the early 1920s stumbled onto a new material with fantastic properties during his search for a synthetic adhesive.

Waldo Semon was intrigued with his finding, and experimented by making golf balls and shoe heels out of the versatile material called polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. Soon after his discovery, PVC-based products such as insulated wire, raincoats and shower curtains hit the market.

The War Years & Beyond
Joining industries across the nation during the ‘40s, PVC manufacturers turned their attention to assisting the war effort. Vinyl-coated wire was widely used aboard U.S. military ships, replacing wire insulated with rubber. Vinyl manufacturers were working in high gear as World War II ended, and they quickly found new markets for the durable plastic. Following the war, news of vinyl’s versatility and flame-resistant properties spread, leading to dozens of commercial uses.

Today
Vinyl products quickly became a staple of the construction industry; the plastic’s resistance to corrosion, light and chemicals made it ideal for building applications. PVC piping was soon transporting water to thousands of homes and industries, aided by improvements in the material’s resistance to extreme temperatures.

Vinyl’s low cost, versatility and performance make it the material of choice for dozens of industries such as health care, communications, aerospace, automotive, retailing, textiles and construction. Rigid as pipe or pliable as plastic wrap, vinyl is a leading material of the 21st century.

Details on Processing Vinyl
Like all plastic materials, vinyl results from a series of processing steps that convert hydrocarbon-based raw materials (petroleum, natural gas or coal) into unique synthetic products called polymers, which includes hydrocarbon feed stocks and chlorine. Because of this, vinyl is less sensitive to fluctuations in the world oil market than are totally oil dependent polymers. Second, chlorine has excellent inherent flame retardant properties. These properties are passed on directly to vinyl end products; making vinyl an excellent choice for applications such as electrical conduit and wiring that require high resistance to ignition and flame spread.

Versatility is yet another reason why vinyl claims such a large share of the plastics market. It is the only plastic that can be made thin and flexible enough for wall coverings, yet rigid and tough enough for siding on buildings. Depending on the additives and modifiers used, vinyl compound can be used indoors or outside, be crystal clear or opaque, and matched to virtually any color in the rainbow.