Primed for Success: The Story of Scientific Design Company: How Chemical Engineers Created the Petrochemical Industry

by Peter H Spitz

This is the remarkable story of an entrepreneurial firm that helped to create the petrochemical industry as we know it today. The author also highlights the important role chemical engineers played in developing and commercializing new technologies based on the conversion of hydrocarbons into petrochemicals, which also led to the transfer of technological dominance from Germany to the United States. These developments are illustrated by the participants’ personal histories, in the form of interviews and recorded oral histories. In addition, the book presents a highly relevant case study for engineers and managers in the chemical industry.

218 pages, Hardcover

Published May 7, 2019

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Content is excellent. This deserves to be more widely read. And I wish there were analogous books for other industries. All that said, this book needs a better editor. There are numerous typos in dates (e.g. saying something occurred in the 1860s when it's obvious from context it took place in the 1960s) and many sentences that are grammatically nonsensical, though the meaning can usually be inferred.