Plastics shapes distributor Curbell Plastics Inc. recently donated more than 2,500 pounds of plastic materials to the international nonprofit Range of Motion Project (ROMP).
Orchard Park, N.Y.-based Curbell is one of the largest suppliers of plastic sheet to the orthotic and prosthetic (O&P) market. At an industry event in 2019, Curbell senior business development manager Jeff Wilson met ROMP development director Lauren Panasewicz. In a Feb. 11 news release, Curbell officials said that ROMP's mission to provide high quality prosthetic care in underserved populations captured Wilson's attention.
Wilson recalled that conversation in early 2020 when Curbell was consolidating its locations in Arlington, Texas. Even with a new optimized racking system, Curbell didn't have enough space for the inventory of two locations. The extra materials included uncommonly used sheet sizes for O&P fabrication.
Wilson didn't want the material to end up in a landfill, so he adhered to Curbell's sustainability initiatives and contacted Panasewicz at ROMP to see if it wanted any of the material. Panasewicz shared the list with ROMP CEO and Executive Director David Krupa, who immediately responded: "Can we have it all?"
Officials said that Curbell "was more than happy" to oblige Krupa's request and prepared the materials for shipment to ROMP's location in Quito, Ecuador. The market value of the material exceeded $25,000.
Krupa estimated that the Curbell material donation would help anywhere from 500 to 700 patients in Ecuador. Wilson and the Curbell O&P team "felt very fortunate to be able to help so many underprivileged patients, along with keeping the material from going to a landfill."
Curbell, founded in 1942, supplies performance plastic sheet, rod, tube, film, adhesives, sealants and prototyping materials for manufacturing to thousands of businesses, entrepreneurs, Fortune 500 companies and government agencies.
In the last eight years, Curbell has made seven acquisitions, most recently buying the plastics business of Great Lakes Plastic Co. Inc. of nearby Buffalo in late 2019. During 2020, Curbell also supplied materials to manufacturers for protective equipment used at hospitals and temporary care facilities during the COVID-19 crisis.