Covestro’s Reinstadtler wins polyurethane award for industry training leadership

Covestro’s Steven Reinstadtler has received the Center for the Polyurethane Industry’s Distinguished Leadership Award, recognising contributions to technical education and the wider polyurethane sector. Covestro’s October 8, 2026 release says the award was presented at the CPI Polyurethanes Technical Conference in Orlando on October 7.

Reinstadtler is Covestro’s architectural and construction coatings manager. The recognition focuses particularly on his work with CPI’s Professional Development Program and his service as an instructor for polyurethane coatings and elastomers courses.

His career has covered elastomers, microcellular foams, coatings and sealants. Covestro says he has worked across technical and commercial disciplines while advocating the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of high-performance polyurethanes. The award’s stated basis is leadership and the advancement of industry goals, rather than a newly announced material or manufacturing process.

Reinstadtler describes feedback from former trainees as a central reward of teaching: professionals have told him that lessons remained useful years later in their jobs and research. He also connects the recognition with Responsible Care’s principle of ethical leadership benefiting society.

Jack O’Malley, Covestro’s senior country representative for coatings and adhesives in North America, says Reinstadtler has spent 38 years with the company and highlights his commitment to sharing polyurethane knowledge.

The announcement adds industry recognition to an established employee’s record. It does not report an appointment, promotion or change in management responsibilities. Nor does it quantify the training programme’s participant numbers, productivity effects or commercial returns. The documented achievement is the award and its emphasis on sustained technical instruction and knowledge sharing.