The Association of Rotational Molders is thrilled to announce the election of Matt Bushman and Gareth McDowell to the Rotational Molding Hall of Fame. Their induction ceremony will take place on November 19 at the ARM Annual Meeting and Rotoplas in New Orleans.
Matt Bushman
Since being introduced to Rotomolding and ARM in 1992, Matt Bushman has acquired a keen appreciation for the technical details of the process. In short order he understood its magnificent potential and developed a great love for the process. A decades-long journey commenced.
As an active participant in ARM for 34 years, Matt has continuously promoted the Rotomolding Industry to the design community. As a multi-term ARM Board member and Past President, he is known as a pragmatic leader with a vision of expanding Rotomolding through education, collaboration, networking and adoption of technology.
With an undergraduate business degree in Operations Management from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Bushman has spent the last 44 years leading, promoting and growing manufacturing organizations. He is currently the President of Plasticraft Corporation where with his guidance and leadership transformed the business from a fledgling start up into an internationally acknowledged, industry leading World Class Rotomolding Organization.
Gareth McDowell
Dr Gareth McDowell has dedicated his career to advancing the science, technology and commercial application of rotational molding. His journey began at Queen’s University Belfast, where he graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering before pursuing a Master’s degree in Electronics. His Master’s research on an active cooling temperature monitoring system introduced him to the industry and led to three years with RotoSystems, a Queen’s spin out, developing and commercializing process monitoring technologies.
In 1997, Gareth returned to Queen’s to undertake doctoral research under the late Professor Roy Crawford. His PhD, The Reduction of Cycle Times in the Rotational Moulding of Plastics, examined mold and powder preheating, internal pressurization, water-mist cooling, and advanced process control systems. After completing his PhD, Gareth carried out postdoctoral research examining the use of mineral fillers within polyethylene compounds used for rotational moulding.
In 2003, Gareth founded 493K Limited, named after the temperature in Kelvin widely recognized as the maximum optimum peak internal air temperature for many rotationally moulded polyethylene parts. He has led the design and commercialization of temperature monitoring systems, wall thickness measurement technologies, and the ROTOROCKET range of bench-top machines. His work has helped bridge the gap between research and practical manufacturing, influencing how molders monitor, control and optimise their processes worldwide.
The Nomination and Election Process
- Nominations for the Hall of Fame were collected from the industry throughout the Spring.
- All nominations received from 2021 – 2026 comprised the longlist.
- The ARM Executive Committee elected a Hall of Fame Selection Committee comprised of seven members of the Hall of Fame.
- The Selection Committee narrowed the longlist to a shortlist of five nominees.
- All Hall of Fame members voted on a ballot to elect inductees from the shortlist.
- All Hall of Fame members reunite at the Annual Meeting Awards Dinner to induct our new members.
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