William J. Spiegel, 85; developed heat-shrink plastic packaging

William J. Spiegel, 85, formerly of Huntingdon Valley, owner and president of the company that developed tamper-resistant, heat-shrinkable plastic seals, died of lung cancer Sunday, Jan. 15, at Jupiter (Fla.) Medical Center.

Mr. Spiegel grew up in South Philadelphia. His first job was working for his father, a wholesale furrier.

In 1961, he and his younger brother, Jacob, started a firm, Gilbreth International.

With $10,000 in borrowed money, they opened a tiny office in Germantown and began importing basic chemicals. By 1966, the firm was producing heat-shrink plastic packaging, initially for insulation for batteries. Gilbreth International moved to a larger plant in Bensalem in 1974.

For years, Mr. Spiegel later told The Inquirer, he had touted his plastic packaging as a method of providing a deterrent to tampering. Companies began paying attention to him after a tragedy.

In 1982, seven Chicago-area residents died after they took Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide. Investigators determined the tainted capsules had not been tampered with at the factories where they were produced. This meant someone had taken the bottles from store shelves, laced them with poison, and then returned them to grocery stores and pharmacies, where the victims later purchased them.

Tylenol's maker, McNeil Consumer Products Co. of Montgomery County, turned to Gilbreth to produce a tamper-resistant package.

When an Inquirer reporter visited the Gilbreth plant two months after the first Chicago death, Mr. Spiegel plucked a bottle from a conveyor and challenged the reporter to open it without disturbing the seal. "When the cap is removed, the seal is broken and cannot be replaced," Mr. Spiegel said.

"Entire new markets have opened, not just in drugs but in cosmetics, such as lipsticks, eyebrow pencils, and I expect the food industry will become a very important market for us," he said.

In 1987, The Inquirer reported Gilbreth planned to make close to two billion labels and three billion to four billion seals that year, including for the food industry.

In 1988, Mr. Spiegel negotiated the acquisition of Gilbreth by Cubro Corp.

A philanthropist in Israel and the United States, Mr. Spiegel received the Horatio Alger Award in 1984 from the Golden Slipper Club. He served on the boards of Congregation Adath Jeshurun in Elkins Park and Uptown Home for the Aged in Philadelphia.

Mr. Spiegel is survived by his wife of 53 years, Sulamita "Sue" Landes Spiegel; a daughter, Adrianne Pass; a son, Philip; a sister; and two grandchildren.

A funeral will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17, at Congregation Adath Jeshurun, 7763 Old York Rd., Elkins Park.