Dave Kietzke (77) started Professional Plastics with his father and brother in 1984. Today, Dave is the company’s CEO, his brother is the executive vice president, and his sons, Brent (05), and Jeremy (03), are leaders in the company — Brent as the business manager for Southern California and Jeremy as director of corporate operations.
The largest supplier of advanced engineering plastic products in North America and Asia, the Kietzkes’ company typically produces plastic parts for diverse industries, including aerospace, oil and gas, medical, automotive, food manufacturing, and heavy equipment.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has turned its attention to producing personal protective equipment (PPE) in the form of face shields, sneeze guards, tabletop dividers, medical domes, and dental domes and shields for many industries and organizations. They are also helping PLNU prepare for a safe reopening.
“We are very blessed by God,” Dave said. “God had a plan that put us in the place we are right now for this specific time and purpose to be able to help others. He put into our team an incredible amount of talent and creativity and innovation. It didn’t even take a week for our people to go from never having made a face shield to making 25,000 a day, and now we are making 75,000 a day. It’s been amazing to see how people in the organization have stepped up.”
“We at Professional Plastics are so proud to be a crucial part of the offensive against this virus,” added Jeremy. “Our team has embodied the spirit of creativity and innovation as we have designed and built numerous products that did not exist before the pandemic, including specialized intubation domes, cubicle extenders, testing booths, and much more. Not only that, but we recognized the need for PPE and utilized our wide-reaching supply chain to help provide hospitals and general industry with millions of needed protective products. With these opportunities, we also have been able to make donations of protective equipment to hospitals, medical personnel, and nonprofit organizations, all of which desperately need it.”
The impact Professional Plastics has been able to make has kept Jeremy going.
“What inspires me most is knowing that every part we make, every shield we assemble, and every shipment we send could very well be saving the lives of our friends, families, doctors, nurses, and fellow Americans,” he said.
“Our team has embodied the spirit of creativity and innovation as we have designed and built numerous products that did not exist before the pandemic, including specialized intubation domes, cubicle extenders, testing booths, and much more.”
Brent agrees and, like his father and brother, views their ability to help as a blessing.
“My original focus was to keep everyone employed, safe, and healthy,” said Brent. “Now the focus is providing whatever we can to help others with the same. Every day we have the opportunity to help save someone’s life with what we are providing, and that’s both a driving force to keep going and a blessing to be a part of.”
Dave, Brent, and Jeremy have also been honored with a 2021 PLNU Homecoming Alumni Award. To learn more, visit the PLNU Homecoming website.
