EnCon United’s Jim Fabinski, as newest Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute’s (PCI) Chairman of the Board, to focus industry sustainability message on how their products can endure extreme weather.
Denver, CO— 4/2/2024 — Jim Fabinski of EnCon United Company was recently elected Chairman of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) and named a PCI Fellow. With 30 years in the Colorado prestressed industry, his experience and wealth of knowledge are with few equals. During his coming tenure as Chairman an important focus of his efforts will be to emphasize the industry’s message on the sustainability of precast/prestressed concrete, “I want to highlight how sustainability means more than just reducing carbon emissions,” states Fabinski.
Fabinski clarified that PCI has developed its messaging along those lines, “PCI made great progress with industry sustainability initiatives at our 2024 Convention in Denver.” Now Fabinski and the PCI Board plan to amplify that message out to the greater construction and design industries, “We look forward to sharing with the market the attributes that make precast concrete the most sustainable construction material.”
Change in Resiliency Planning
A 2020 Study by Columbia School of International and Public Affairs reported that the Commercial Real Estate Industry is still focused on mitigation and has only taken preliminary actions regarding adaptation. However, as insurers become less willing to cover climate-driven risks of increased flooding and fires, the products of our industry will become a bigger part of resiliency planning.
Fabinski explains how PCI can play a pivotal role in this resiliency, “Precast concrete contributes to a better built environment through durability and resilience. Building structures that can survive floods, fires, and other calamities with little or no damage will benefit society more than marginal reductions in carbon emissions.” With U.S. Wildfires causing over $1 Billion worth of primarily structural damage, the potential cost savings for insurance and for structures that can survive all extreme weather events is significant.
Fabinski’s Other Priorities
Fabinski also plans to foster the interpersonal aspects of the Chairmanship citing his ambition to build strong relationships with allied industry groups like the National Precast Concrete Association (NPCA) and the American Concrete Institute (ACI). “I also want to simply have some fun with the awesome people who make PCI the greatest institution in the engineering and construction world,” Fabinski light-heartedly remarked. With his leadership goals, PCI’s future looks bright.
More On Fabinski’s Fellowship
Fabinski’s recognition as a PCI Fellow is also a great honor among his peers. It takes over 10 years of consistent and dedicated service to PCI to be nominated by a jury of other PCI Fellows. During this time, he has contributed to the development of infrastructure market through research. He was instrumental in the development of the Colorado Curved Tube Girder which integrated several technologies that enabled a massive increase in the presence of precast elements in highway flyovers. Finally, his service as the Chairman of the PCI Transportation Activities Council gave him a major role in advocating and selecting research projects that are the foundation of opportunities for the industry.
