Four-plant, prestressed hollow core panel producer Fabcon Precast has named Mike Rafi chief executive officer. He succeeds Mike LeJeune, who transitions to chairman of the board after overseeing day-to-day operations for 20 years. Rafi has served in senior leadership roles over the past two decades, gaining exposure to manufacturing and construction, along with merger & acquisition activity. He was most recently Contech Engineered Solutions CEO, leading into its acquisition by Quikrete Cos., and had arrived at the concrete and steel infrastructure solutions specialist following an Oshkosh Corp. management tenure.
“I believe Fabcon has a great business model combined with a talented management team and is poised for tremendous growth both organically and through acquisitions,” notes Rafi.
“Mike LeJeune and Mike Rafi strengthen Fabcon. Their combined experience and skills are tailor-made for our plans of continued market leadership, innovation and growth,” adds Brian Moody, operating partner for Solace Capital Partners, primary shareholder.
Northwest Pipe Co., parent of Utah-based Geneva Pipe and Precast, has appointed Amanda Kulesa as a director and to the Nominating and Governance Committees. A senior partner of Somerville Partners in Denver, which specializes in management and organizational psychology, she has nearly two decades’ experience working with Global 500 organizations providing directors and senior level executives with an understanding of how to maximize leadership effectiveness and build value creation through long-term strategic planning.
 Mike Ryan |
 Vanessa Ramirez |
Gate Precast Co. has named Mike Ryan as the new vice president of Operations at its Hillsboro, Texas, plant, and Vanessa Ramirez as the new corporate human resource coordinator. A veteran of California’s Clark Pacific, Ryan oversees expansive architectural and structural precast fabrication, and will promote the new GateLite Façade Systems, combining conventional precast elements with glazing, insulation, fire-stop and caulk features. He arrives with more than 30 years’ experience in all aspects of exterior envelope design, manufacturing and installation, having served in field engineer, senior project manager, chief estimator, director of architectural systems and product development capacities.
In addition to her new corporate responsibilities, Ramirez will continue to serve as human resources/payroll manager at the Kissimmee, Fla. plant, as well as Gate Precast’s Spanish language liaison. She will explore ways to improve human resource policies, processes and practices, and coordinate efforts with counterparts at sister precast, prestressed plants.
“We welcome Mike to the team and congratulate Vanessa in her new role,” says Gate President Dean Gwin. “Vanessa will help ensure we have a true understanding of our needs and that all team members enjoy the benefits that Gate has to offer. We expect Mike will take us to the next level with GateLite Façade Systems.”
Pioneer Landscape Centers has added one Colorado and three Arizona quarries, affording increased production capabilities and ushering in new stone grades to support a range of customers in the concrete, asphalt and road base markets. The sites bring the company’s portfolio to 20 quarries and production facilities, plus 35 retail distribution locations.
The new quarries position Highlands Ranch, Colo.-based Pioneer Landscape to grow share across core markets, notes CEO Mark Adamson, and “allow us to provide customers with a greater range of on-trend decorative rock and boulder options, such as Arizona Brown, Brecken Gold and Brecken Blue.” Pioneer is one of the leading landscape and hardscape materials suppliers in the country, he adds, and sets itself apart from competitors by sourcing the majority of its materials through its own quarries and production facilities.
Submission of a TerraPro-mounted boom pump truck photo by AAA Zoellner’s Kimberly Langhorst earned a place for the Imperial, Mo. ready mixed producer and concrete placing contractor on the Mack Trucks 2021 calendar. Open to trucks presently in service, the calendar contest invites customers to submit photos of Anthem, Granite, LR, Pinnacle and TerraPro models. Representing the Granite series on the 2021 Mack Trucks calendar will be DeBerardinis Heavy Haul of Orlando, Fla.; and, R.L Causey Inc. of Murrells Inlet, S.C. Mack Trucks fans and social media followers vote for the photo they like best in current or legacy categories, the latter for models no longer in production.