Toscas for president

James Toscas is the new president at the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute. He is taking over for the retiring Tom Battles, who has led the group for the past 16 years and has been named president emeritus. Toscas joins the institute after having served as executive vice president of the American Concrete Institute.

"We're pleased with the combination of Jim's engineering and association management background," said Michael Quinlan, PCI's chairman and president of Gate Precast Co., Jacksonville, Fla. "But what really excites us are Jim's strong communication skills, his ability to think strategically and his true passion for the concrete industry. I am convinced that Jim is the right individual at the right time to take PCI to the next level of excellence."

"I'm particularly confident about the opportunities ahead for precast/prestressed concrete technology in general, and for PCI in particular," said Toscas. "PCI is an impressive example of an organization that has achieved the right balance between technical excellence and market relevance."

While at ACI, Toscas took steps to help unify the concrete industry, including transforming the Strategic Development Council into the industry's leading technology strategy forum and fostering the development of a concrete industry "Technology Roadmap" in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy.