Jon M. Huntsman is dead at 80

Abstract

Jon M. Huntsman Sr., the Huntsman Corp. founder, packaging innovator, and philanthropist, died on Feb. 2. He was 80 years old. To the chemical industry, Huntsman is best known for the company that bears his name. In 2016, Huntsman Corp. was the sixth-largest U.S. chemical company, with $9.6 billion in sales. Huntsman came to the chemical industry in the early 1960s as an egg salesperson in Southern California. Using a plastic extruder and an improvised thermoforming machine, he developed the first polystyrene foam egg cartons. This invention led to a packaging joint venture with Styrofoam giant Dow Chemical and the founding of Huntsman Container Corp. in 1970. That company would continue to innovate, inventing the polystyrene foam clamshell container used for the Big Mac and other takeout food. Huntsman founded Huntsman Corp. in 1983 with the purchase of a Shell polystyrene plant in Belpre, Ohio. He would grow to be