Dr. Keith Hechtel and Curbell Plastics Strike Gold, Winning Four IAPD Awards

Orchard Park, N.Y., November 8, 2023

Curbell Plastics, Inc., one of the nation’s top suppliers of plastic sheet, rod, tube, tapes, and fabricated parts, was honored with four awards by performance plastics industry peers at the 67th IAPD Annual Convention. IAPD – The Performance Plastics Association, awarded Dr. Keith Hechtel, Senior Director of Business Development, the prestigious Paul Davis Award of Merit. The company also received Environmental Excellence, Education Circle of Champions, and Marketing Excellence awards.

With over 35 years of plastics industry experience, Keith’s expertise and insight have made him a well-known voice and educator in performance plastics. His extensive knowledge of plastics, coupled with a keen engineering mindset, enables him to effectively communicate complex technical information to diverse audiences. He consistently shares his expertise through presentations, articles, and educational content, helping both Curbell Plastics, the IAPD, and the industry at large.

Over the years Keith has served on the IAPD Education and Technical Advisory Committees, authored Performance Plastics magazine articles, and delivered educational presentations for IAPD’s webinars, annual conventions, Women in Plastics events, and GenerationNext programs. He currently serves on the DEI+B (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) Task Force.

When asked about what this award means to him, Keith replied, “I am grateful to my fellow IAPD members and to the IAPD staff for honoring me with this award. IAPD has provided me with unique opportunities to learn and to teach throughout my career. I feel very fortunate to be part of this outstanding association.”

Gold IAPD Environmental Excellence Award
For the ninth consecutive year Curbell Plastics was awarded a Gold Environmental Excellence Award which honors the responsible environmental practices of IAPD member companies. For years Curbell has engaged in sustainable strategies including recycling, energy conservation, community outreach, and employee engagement programs, led by Mark Shriver, Curbell’s Director of Safety & Environmental Affairs. In addition, this year they earned an EcoVadis Silver rating certificate allowing Curbell to share where they stand with Environmental Social and Governance practices, providing a roadmap for future sustainability initiatives.

Gold IAPD Education Circle of Champions Award
2023 marks the eighth year Curbell Plastics has received the Gold Education Circle of Champions award. This award recognizes the company for participation in IAPD educational events and their extensive internal employee training programs. Ashley Riley, Senior Training & Development Manager leads a team that develops programs to further Curbell employee training and promote the company’s core value of learning.

Gold IAPD Marketing Excellence Award
Curbell’s in-house marketing team led by Sherrie Bloom, Director of Marketing, was honored with a Gold Marketing Excellence award after receiving silver for the past two years. The hard-working marketing team was recognized for their on-going promotion of performance plastics, launching a new website, contributing to industry publications and IAPD’s Performance Plastics magazine, creating integrated marketing campaigns, email programs, social media content, and more.

About Curbell Plastics, Inc.

Curbell Plastics grew into one of the nation’s top plastic materials suppliers by investing for the long term and focusing foremost on the needs of its customers — a strategy that has set the company apart since its founding in 1942.

Curbell supplies performance plastics — durable and lightweight materials that minimize energy consumption and add value to countless commercial and industrial applications — to thousands of businesses, entrepreneurs, Fortune 500 companies, and government agencies. The company also offers plastic film, adhesives, sealants, tapes, prototyping and tooling materials, and fabricated plastic parts. Its innovative services include a nationwide team of material experts to help customers solve engineering and application challenges.

Curbell Plastics, a privately held subsidiary of Curbell, Inc., has 22 locations nationwide and is based in Orchard Park, New York. It has ISO 9001 certification for multiple locations, and it maintains ITAR and EAR compliance company-wide.