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1940
Curbell Machine Company
Brothers Edmond and Leonard Leone establish Curbell Machine Company as a subcontractor for government military contracts.
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1947
Curbell Machine Company
Curbell Machine Company is incorporated. The name is changed to
Curbell, Inc. Curbell begins to distribute and fabricate plastic parts. -
1960
Electronics
Curbell’s Electronics Division was created to manufacture hand-held patient
controls for use with hospital television sets and nurse call systems. -
1989
Gen II
Curbell Electronics introduces the Gen II pillow speaker.
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1993
Orchard Park
New corporate offices are opened in Orchard Park, NY to serve as the division
headquarters for both the Plastics and Electronics operating units. -
1996
Gen III
Curbell Electronics introduces the Gen III pillow speaker.
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2002
20 CENTRE DRIVE
Curbell Electronics opens its new manufacturing facility at 20 Centre Dr., Orchard Park.
Curbell Electronics receives ISO 9001:2000 certification.
Curbell is awarded a 4A1 credit rating by Dun & Bradstreet.
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2004
DirectAccess Pillow Speaker
The DirectAccess Pillow Speaker is introduced. This pillow speaker gives
the user the ability to select specific TV channels without having to
scroll through all available channels. -
2008
Gen4
Curbell Electronics releases the Gen4 Pillow Speaker
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2009
Zero Landfill
Environmental sustainability initiatives result in achieving “Zero Landfill”
status for Curbell, Inc., Curbell Medical Products, Inc., and Curbell Plastics’ WNY location. -
2009
OnePatient Disposable Lead Wires
Curbell Electronics releases its line of OnePatient Disposable ECG Lead Wires
to aid hospitals in their efforts to decrease cross contamination between patients. -
2012
70 years
Curbell celebrates 70 years and changes the company logo.
Curbell Electronics changes their name to Curbell Medical.
OUR HISTORY
From Pasta to Plastic to Pillow Speakers
Curbell’s history began in the 1940s in the industrial heart of Buffalo, N.Y. and has since been marked by an ability to identify new opportunities and to adapt to a changing marketplace and customer needs. That flexibility, along with an entrepreneurial spirit, has led our company and its two subsidiaries, Curbell Plastics, Inc. and Curbell Medical Products, Inc. to continue to grow and thrive.
Brothers Edmond and Leonard Leone founded the original company as a macaroni producer that included a small machine shop. Local aerospace manufacturers approached the company to fabricate parts for their businesses, which led to experimenting with a relatively new material called “plastic.” As their expertise in plastic fabrication grew, so did their customer base and a new company, Curbell Machine Company, was formed, taking its name from a combination of its two original customers: Curtiss Wright and Bell Aircraft.
After World War II, chemical manufacturers expanded their experimentation with plastics and introduced new polymer materials into the industrial marketplace. Curbell was approached to become a distributor for the new materials and quickly grew across New York State. Curbell continued to expand, and by the late 1970s, the company embarked on a major effort to create a national distribution network.
Curbell Plastics is now one of the nation’s premier suppliers of plastic sheet, rod, tube, and related materials, supplying hundreds of plastics products from over 22 sales and distribution centers strategically located throughout the United States.
Curbell Medical (formerly Curbell Electronics) grew out of the company’s Plastics business when Curbell began to fabricate parts for General Electric’s line of wired remote control units for its hospital televisions, commonly known as “pillow speakers.” When Curbell began fabricating as well assembling the units, a new company was born. The company leveraged its assembly expertise to build relationships with other television manufacturers, including Zenith, RCA, and Admiral, until Curbell became the industry’s largest supplier of replacement pillow speaker units.
Today, Curbell Medical is the largest manufacturer of signaling devices and related accessories for hospitals and nursing homes throughout the United States. In addition to our own products, Curbell Medical manufactures a variety of privately-labeled products for most of the major hospital communication system manufacturers in the country, and also distributes many other healthcare products.
Still privately held today, Curbell Inc. employs more than 500 people who embrace our pioneering spirit at our headquarters in Orchard Park, NY, and at our plastics distribution centers throughout the United States.