Portable Sanitation Association International

12 I PSAI Association Insight, July 7, 2021 improvement over outhouses or improvisation when nature called. But as needs and applications continued to increase at record levels, mass-produced manufactured portable restroom units soon became the only option to meet this staggering demand. The origin of fiberglass. Fiberglass is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using—you guessed it—glass fiber for strength and durability. A researcher at Owings-Illinois, Games Slayter, discovered the process of mass-producing glass strands in 1932-33. Owens then joined the Corning Company in 1936 to patent the process and produce "Fiberglas" (spelled with one "s"). This product eventually became known generically as "fiberglass." That same year, duPont, found a resin that would combine plastic with fiberglass to produce a composite material. With a few other minor adaptations, fiberglass was perfected to the point that it could be used in manufacturing. The discovery was just in time. During World War II, many war materials had some fiberglass components, from airplane parts and helmet liners to sheltering electronic equipment. Fiberglass, it turns out, is "invisible" to radio frequencies! Fiberglass replaces wood and metal in many products. After the war ended in 1945, manufacturers began producing new products and entering new markets. As these markets became established, fiberglass took on many new uses. In 1953 Owings-Corning and General Motors came together as a joint venture to produce the first automobile body made entirely of their Fiberglas-reinforced plastic body, the Chevrolet Corvette. Around the same time, the boating industry was dramatically changed by the introduction of fiberglass boats. Fiberglass replacing wood was now commonplace. The boating industry and the portable sanitation industry. In an odd coincidence, today's portable sanitation industry owes much to the development and growth of fiberglass boats in the 1950s and 1960s. According to BoatingIndustry.com, in 1950 there were 450,000 numbered (registered) motorboats in use throughout the country. In 1959, the industry was selling that many motorboats in a year! With the marine industry unable to keep up with immense demand, a shortage of metal for hulls and other parts developed. This scarcity led to a resurgence in fiberglass hulls and the production of fiberglass boats themselves. Fiberglass boats could also be produced faster than wooden models. This was yet another advantage to help with increased demand. Interestingly, two PSAI pioneers of the portable sanitation industry—Ed Crafton and George Harding—were both involved in the fiberglass boating industry during this time. Their knowledge of alternative materials and of manufacturing processes for replacing hand-crafted products such as wooden boats, and eventually wooden portable restrooms, made them very successful when they found their way to our industry. In 1961 while still with his company Wellcraft Boats in Bradenton, Florida, Ed Crafton developed an alternative to the wooden restrooms of the day using fiberglass. He told Sanitation Journal in 2003: "I thought that it was a great idea. They were completely round, they looked like missiles, and there wasn't a market for them." Ed Crafton, of course, went on to found PolyPortables and to locate in Dahlonega, Georgia in 1972. A little known fact is that both Ed and George worked together in 1972 to develop the "Poly San" which was a round plastic unit. Ever the inventor, pioneer George Harding eventually took his myriad of ideas and on June 3, 1969, patented the "Polyethylene Portable Toilet Cabana." Better known as the plastic portable restroom, this invention would render fiberglass units obsolete in the coming years. In 1984, he joined Ed Cooper and they formed the company still known today as PolyJohn. Fiberglass Units – The Bridge Between Wood and Plastic (continued from page 10) (continued on page 13) Ed Crafton and George Harding in the heyday of fiberglass

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