Joseph Labovsky

Joseph Labovsky opens the interview with a discussion of his childhood in Ukraine and his family experiences there after his father emigrated to the United States in 1914. Labovsky moved with his mother and siblings to Komarine, a village adjacent to Chernobyl on the Dnieper River, where the family survived the Communist Revolution, civil war, famine, and a pogrom which killed fifteen of the twenty Jewish families there. In 1922, Labovsky's father was able to locate the family and make arrangements for a safe escape through Eastern Europe to the United States. Labovsky describes childhood interactions with the Polish and Red Armies in Komarine; impressions of settling in Wilmington, Delaware, where his father was a successful tailor; resuming his early education; and learning English. Next, Labovsky discusses his high school graduation and his father's successful efforts to secure him a job at DuPont, where he began working as lab assistant for Dr. Wallace Carothers' research group. He reflects upon his experiences and perceptions of early nylon work. Labovsky also looks back on his relationships with other scientists, particularly his mentor Carothers who directed him towards a DuPont college scholarship. In 1930, Labovsky began training at Bliss Electrical College but transferred after one year to the Pratt Institute, where he earned a degree in industrial chemical engineering. In 1934, he graduated and, after struggling in the Depression-era job market, happily accepted an offer to return to Carothers' research group and nylon development work. The interview continues as Labovsky details both the research group's work testing polymers and discovering polymer 66, and differences in the work environments under Carothers and, later, George Graves. After a discussion of work to develop the fiber 66 commercial process, Labovsky shares recollections of Carothers and the circumstances surrounding his untimely death in 1937. Throughout the second half of the interview, he chronicles the commercial development and success of nylon, providing details on spinning, drawing, quality control, and commercial processing. Labovsky describes problems and solutions in the history of nylon, including his War Production Award and three-part "A" bonus for reducing nylon waste through procedures to repair spinnerets during the Korean War. He describes his career path from laboratory technician to process control foreman to management training specialist for DuPont International--emphasizing the importance of troubleshooting, problem solving, and standard practice procedures throughout. The interview closes with comments on safety in nylon production and DuPont's overall safety record.

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

1930 - 1930 Summer Chemist's Helper, Experimental Station, Wilmington, Delaware

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

1934 - 1937 Laboratory Technical Assistant, Dr. Carothers's Research Group, Experimental Station, Wilmington, Delaware

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

1937 - 1938 Foreman, Nylon Semi-Works, Experimental Station

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

1938 - 1939 Shift Supervisor, Nylon Pilot Plant, Experimental Station

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

1939 - 1941 Process Control Foreman, Seaford, Delaware, Nylon Plant

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

1941 - 1955 Quality Control Supervisor, Spinneret Laboratory Supervisor, and Textile Area Supervisor, Martinsville, Virginia, Nylon Plant

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

1955 - 1963 Training Supervisor, Textile Research Laboratory, Tyvek® Development Group, Chestnut Run Laboratory, Wilmington, Delaware

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

1963 - 1969 Management Training Specialist, DISA (DuPont International), Geneva, Switzerland

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

1969 - 1975 Training and Industrial Relations Supervisor, Chestnut Run Laboratory, Wilmington, Delaware

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

1975 Retired

SNIA Viscosa

1975 - 1979 Consultant, SNIA Viscosa, Italy

SNIA Viscosa

1975 - 1979 Consultant, SNIA Viscosa, Ireland

Montefibre

1975 - 1979 Consultant, Montefibre, Italy

Montefibre

1975 - 1979 Consultant, Montedison, Italy

Diamond Shamrock

1975 - 1979 Consutlant, Diamond Shamrock, France

Diamond Shamrock

1980 - 1985 Retired

NILIT, Ltd.

1985 - 1995 Consultant, NILIT, Ltd., Israel

NILIT, Ltd.

1996 Retired

John Kenly Smith

John Kenly Smith, Jr., is an associate professor of history at Lehigh University, where he has been a faculty member since 1987. He coauthored Science and Corporate Strategy: DuPont R&D, 1902–1980, published in 1988. He served with the DuPont R&D History Project from 1982 to 1986 and was Newcomen Fellow in Business History at Harvard Business School from 1986 to 1987. He received the Newcomen Prize in Business History for Best Book Published in America and is on the editorial board of American Chemical Society Books.