Paul N.Colby is an American Engineer in the plastics industry for fifty years.

Colby graduated from Princeton University as a mechanical engineer in 1950. During the Korean Was he spent two years as Assistant Navigator on an aircraft carrier.

The first experience out of college was as a project engineer at Winner Manufacturing Company. He developed the then-standard U.S. Army reinforced plastic assault boat, and designed and built the Army’s reinforced plastic pontoon bridge. Each plastic portion was 60 feet in length and was the largest plastic structure of the time.

The next 25 years were spent in various marketing, engineering and general management positions ranging from sales engineer to Vice President and General Manager in the following companies: Union Carbide, Sterling Extruder, Davis-Standard, Prodex/HPM and Feed Screw Division.

In 1978, he founded the Spirex Corporation as a manufacturer of extrusion and injection screws. He developed Spirex into the largest supplier of screws in the world with plants in Youngstown, Ohio and Gainesville, Texas. Most of the growth was related to technical innovation and problem solving involving plasticating components. Colby holds many patents in the field included mixing screws: Pulsar, V-Mixer, Z-Mixer, and Flex Flight, plus several patents on remedial on-site barrel grooving for solving difficult feeding problems, and laser cladding. In 1990, Colby founded Polytech Components Corp. with key employees of Spirex. Polytech manufactures non-return valves, edcaps, nozzles, and other plasticating components. Polytech has been very successful and markets their products directly to machinery builders and indirectly through Spirex to processors.

Colby has been involved in many of the Spirex innovations in addition to the patents listed above. These innovations include:

1) Pioneered the standard length (20:1) L/D vented injection conversion.

2) Pioneered the use of OPM tool steel for much improved abrasion resistance.

3) Helped develop the patented Auto-Shut spring loaded injection valve for precise shot size control.

4) Helped develop and improve the Spirex IMA (Inline Melt Analysis) machine which optically and digitally measures melt quality and mixing efficiency of various screw designs.

5) Started the now-common business of injection molding downsizing and upsizing.

6) Helped to create seven separate software programs devoted to processing assistance, maintenance and inventory control for extruders and injection molders. These programs are standard products offered by Spirex.

A significant portion (35%) of Spirex has been exported. Most of this has been to machinery manufacturers in Europe, Japan, Canada and others. Usually these sales are related to potential problem-solving designs and the ability to meet stringent tolerances. Paul was honored as “Exporter of the Year” in 1994 by the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.

He has worked on numerous industry associations including:

(1) SPE Executive Committee (public relations)

(2) SPE Injection Molding Division (sponsorship)

(3) One of three original founders of SPI Component Division (now part of the SPI Machinery Divison)

(4) Current Secretary and past Treasurer of the Plastics Pioneers Association

(5) Current member of SPI Strategic Management Group on Public Policy

(6) “Engineer of the Year” in 1999 by the SPE Injection Molding Division