The result was a more flexible and more easily processed material that soon achieved widespread commercial use. Goodrich Company developed a method in 1926 to plasticize PVC by blending it with various additives. In the early 20th century, the Russian chemist Ivan Ostromislensky and Fritz Klatte of the German chemical company Griesheim-Elektron both attempted to use PVC in commercial products, but difficulties in processing the rigid, sometimes brittle polymer thwarted their efforts. The polymer appeared as a white solid inside a flask of vinyl chloride that had been left on a shelf sheltered from sunlight for four weeks. PVC was synthesized in 1872 by German chemist Eugen Baumann after extended investigation and experimentation. It is insoluble in alcohol but slightly soluble in tetrahydrofuran. Pure polyvinyl chloride is a white, brittle solid. With cotton or linen, it is used in the production of canvas. In this form, it is also used in plumbing, electrical cable insulation, imitation leather, flooring, signage, phonograph records, inflatable products, and many applications where it replaces rubber. It can be made softer and more flexible by the addition of plasticizers, the most widely used being phthalates. It is also used in making bottles, non-food packaging, food-covering sheets, and cards (such as bank or membership cards). The rigid form of PVC is used in construction for pipe and in profile applications such as doors and windows. PVC comes in two basic forms: rigid (sometimes abbreviated as RPVC) and flexible. About 40 million tons of PVC are produced each year. Polyvinyl chloride ( colloquial: polyvinyl, vinyl abbreviated: PVC) is the world's third-most widely produced synthetic plastic polymer (after polyethylene and polypropylene).

Magnetic truck door signs