Remaining Resilient

A visit with the 2025 Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Chair

Carlos Cerna of Manco Structures in Schertz, Texas has devoted nearly 50 years to precast, prestressed concrete, during which he has consistently served as an active member of PCI and its regional partner, PCMA. At the passing of the gavel during the 2025 PCI Convention in February, he remarked, “The precast, prestressed concrete industry has been my world for the last 46 years. Mostly good, some not-so-good, but all experiences have been challenging and all rewarding. And that world of mine, our industry, has been steadily anchored by PCI.”

Cerna noted that the industry has evolved significantly over these years. “We have embraced longer spans, higher concrete strengths, a variety of textures and colors, and a diversity of precast, prestressed concrete applications,” he says. It has remained resilient in the face of changing markets, competitive pressures, and customer demands, and Cerna plans to see it remains that way during his tenure as chair.

A recent major milestone for the organization was the realization of a decades-long vision of a code for precast concrete with the joint publication of ACI-PCI 319-25 Structural Precast Concrete – Code Requirements and Commentary in January. According to Cerna, “this was a major goal of PCI’s current strategy plan. With its completion, the PCI Board will be undertaking a new strategic effort later this year.”

ALL PRECAST IS LOCAL
Cerna’s main goal for his term is to focus on the needs of the 11 PCI-affiliated chapters and partners around the country. He explains that the different regional markets all have varying degrees of wants and needs. For instance, issues concerning Florida producers may not be the same as those in the Northeast; state DOT hauling regulations in the Gulf South may differ from those in the Mountain States; marketing efforts for those in the Georgia-Carolinas region may not work for those in the Midwest; and state regulations in Texas are certainly different from those in California.

As he stated at the convention, “All precast concrete is local.” Although the industry shares an abundance of commonality throughout the different markets, at the end of the day members are generally more entuned to the situations affecting their own markets. “Moving forward, not only is it imperative that PCI continues its overall mission, but I believe we must explore means to enhance support to chapters and partners. Let’s offer more help to the regional affiliates by supporting their local initiatives, only they know the particulars that affect the industry at their local and regional level. Let’s enrich the value of their membership,” Cerna affirms.

“Members participate in PCI for many different reasons, and we hope that they find value in all of those reasons. PCI’s strategic plan reflects the institute’s ability to create that value,” adds PCI President and CEO Bob Risser. “Our mission as a technical institute is firmly rooted as the foundation of our activities by identifying our first goal of maintaining and advancing our industry’s body of knowledge. Many of our members see the value in PCI by fully participating in the technical committee work that makes up this aspect of the institute.

“Our second goal is to maintain our valuable certification programs for plants, erectors, and personnel. Many members who participate in PCI see the value and credibility that comes from being PCI certified and helping to make those programs the best they can be. This is the value of PCI as a technical institute.”

Risser went on to say that PCI has also greatly ramped up its education efforts in recent years, especially with university students. “These future architects, engineers, and construction management students need to be familiar with precast building systems. It’s literally the key to our future,” he says.

UPCOMING EFFORTS
In addition to its technical work and certification programs, PCI has several initiatives underway to further assist members with delivering more sustainable products. A $9.95 million EPA grant PCI, the National Precast Concrete Association, and the American Concrete Pipe Association, were selected in 2024 to receive through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will likely not be awarded. The grant was to assist PCI, NPCA and ACPA producer members develop environmental product declarations (EPD), submittals of which are increasingly required in public and private construction contracts.

Currently, the distribution of funds to grant recipients is on hold because EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin canceled the grants in March. Several grant recipients have filed a lawsuit against the EPA for breach of contract. “If the EPA grant comes to fruition that will be great but we will move forward no matter what,” Cerna states. PCI is moving forward with a program to accelerate members’ ability to create EPDs, which it started a couple of years ago. Also, PCI hired precast concrete industry veteran Thomas Ketron in November 2024 as its first director of sustainability, furthering its long-term commitment in this area.

Furthermore, PCI has discussed the idea of widely promoting a robust resiliency rating system pioneered by the U.S. Resiliency Council that would encompass all known hazards a structure may encounter during its life. The idea is to encourage the adoption of the rating system for resilience similar to how the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) system was promoted beginning in the early 2000s for sustainability. This, along with technical and education initiatives will be included in the strategic plan the Board will use to chart PCI’s course for the rest of the decade. With PCI as its anchor, the industry “will continue to change and thrive well into the future,” concludes Cerna.