As he approaches the end of his career, Chuck Prussack says he wants to do all he can as current chairman of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute to ensure fellow veteran engineers share experiences with their younger counterparts.

PCI serves as the national technical institute for the precast concrete structures industry in the country.

“That’s my goal as chairman, to make sure that I’m a good steward and stressing the importance of my peers to be good stewards,” says Prussack, the manager of sales, engineering, and quality control for Oldcastle Precast Inc., located at 5111 E. Broadway, in Spokane Valley.

In a press release announcing Prussack’s election as its 2016 chairman, PCI President and CEO Bob Risser said, “With nearly 40 years of experience in the precast/prestressed concrete industry, Chuck brings a wealth of technical knowledge and dedicated leadership to the role of PCI chairman.”

Risser went on to say, “We look forward to his guidance as we move ahead with our goals of growing the precast concrete industry while maintaining our role as the keeper of the industry’s body of knowledge.”

Oldcastle Precast employs 100 people here, Prussack says. Nationwide, the company employs more than 3,000 workers at 80 locations. The company is the North American subsidiary of Oldcastle Inc., based in Dublin, Ireland.

Precast concrete is a construction product that’s produced by casting concrete in a reusable mold and then transported to the constructed site and lifted into place. Prestressed concrete typically has tensioned steel strands imbedded in it to give it added strength. It can be used to produce beams, floors or bridges with a longer span than is practical with ordinary reinforced concrete.

Prussack, 63, joined Oldcastle Precast in 1979 when it was known as Central Pre-Mix Prestress Co. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Structural Engineers Association of Washington.

Oldcastle Precast bills itself on its website as one of the leading manufacturers of precast concrete, polymer concrete, and plastic products in the U.S.

“We’re the largest, vertically integrated construction supply company in the world,” Prussack says.

In addition to being elected PCI chairman in March, Prussack is a PCI fellow, a panel member on several National Academy of Sciences bridge-related projects, a prestressed concrete lecturer, and presenter on various bridge projects.

As for PCI, Prussack says other goals he has for the organization during his year-long tenure will be to encourage greater member engagement in training for all levels of professionals, from plant workers to engineers and drafters.

Prussack says he also wants to see PCI—founded in 1954 and based in Chicago—more actively promote the benefits of precast/prestressed construction and product innovation, with PCI serving as the industry’s main resource for education, information, and connection.

PCI develops, maintains, and disseminates information for designing, fabricating, and constructing precast concrete structures. It offers technical resources, certification for companies and individuals, and continuing education, says the organization’s website.

Its members include precast concrete manufacturers, companies that provide products and services to the industry, precast concrete erectors, and individuals such as architects, consultants, contractors, developers, engineers, materials suppliers, service providers and students.

Prussack graduated from Ferris High School before enrolling at Spokane Falls Community College. He then completed an undergraduate degree in civil engineering at Washington State University.

After graduating, he went to work for Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. at several of its West Coast locations before getting hired at Central Pre-Mix. Oldcastle Precast then purchased Central Pre-Mix nearly 20 years ago. Prussack says being a civil engineer has been a rewarding career.

Concrete and concrete-related materials manufactured by Oldcastle Precast have been used in such familiar structures as the Davenport Grand Hotel, at 333 W. Spokane Falls Blvd., in downtown Spokane; the Davenport Tower Hotel, at 111 S. Post downtown; and the Monroe Street Bridge.

It’s that kind of enthusiasm he says he and his peers need to pass on to younger people in the industry.

“There are a lot of us in the industry right now who will soon be retiring,” Prussack says. “We’ve got to teach the younger people behind us how we do what we do.”

Within the last year, Prussack says industry officials gathered at a summit and identified significant challenges facing the precast and prestress industry.

“It starts with people, in the future. Where will we get them?” he says. “As an industry, right now, we’re faced with having to ask ourselves if we’re being innovative enough to remain relevant in the marketplace for talent.”