PCI of Illinois & Wisconsin

22/10/2026

Associate members: a new benefit that comes with your dues, and all you need is a phone.

Four times a year, PCI IW sends a short video from each associate to the plant managers and purchasing staff at every producer member in Illinois and Wisconsin. Show the product, the plant, the jobsite. Send a finished video at no cost, or send clips and our marketing team edits them for $250. We post it, we send it, and we tell you who watched.

The first edition covers lifting, connections and hardware. Videos are due January 15 and go to producers in February. Every associate gets one video a year. Premier Associates lead every edition and get editing included.

The filming guide and upload link are on the page.

https://pciiw.org/supplier-showcase

21/10/2026

Students: a paid trip to Salt Lake City and a live design challenge.

Project Precast 2027 puts teams of architecture, engineering and construction management students in front of a real precast problem at the PCI Convention, February 1 to 5. A precast producer or professional member mentors every team.

Travel, lodging, meals and convention entry are covered, and the winning team earns $1,000 per student. Applications close November 2.

Professors and professionals: forward this to a student you know.

https://pciiw.org/project-precast

20/10/2026

This Saturday! RHK Construction's Drop Dead Gala is October 24 at Two Brothers Roundhouse in Aurora, doors at 5:45. Wear a costume, catch the magician, and dance with the live DJ. Every ticket supports trades education for local students.

Thanks to all the sponsors, including our producer members County Prestress & Precast and ATMI Precast.

Code BlueWins2026 takes $30 off while it lasts: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1988873004696/?discount=BlueWins2026

12/10/2026

IDOT's FY 2027 highway program is out: $6.4 billion, 1,303 miles, 187 bridges.

The line to read twice is IDOT's own. With the pavement goals on track, the department says the rate at which bridges are deteriorating will make it very difficult to meet the bridge targets, even with IIJA and Rebuild Illinois money.

Illinois has 2,563 structurally deficient bridges, third most in the nation, and the count is rising. Of the 65 NHS bridges in this year's state program, 24 are structurally deficient.

The fit for plant-cast concrete is the short-span replacements and the culverts, and IDOT already has the record: precast deck panels with UHPC joints on Peoria Street and Campground Road, a bridge set on precast abutments and slid into place on Illinois 115 inside a 72-hour closure, and a scorecard to find the next candidates. AASHTO designs a bridge for 75 years. PCI says precast, prestressed concrete can deliver 100.

We went through the program, the bridge list and IDOT's own record on precast:
https://pciiw.org/post/idot-fy27-highway-program-precast

09/10/2026

Three PCI IW producers have built on the same hospital campus, and each one had to match the last.

At Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, International Concrete Products clad the original revitalization. Lombard Architectural Precast Products Company followed with two patient pavilions: 427 panels, 45,000 square feet, close to 30,000 of it brick faced. Stonecast Products is on the parking structure now.

Before production, a full-scale mock-up on site proved the concrete color, brick coursing and sealant against the buildings already standing.

Architect: Pelli Clarke & Partners.

https://pciiw.org/projects/northwestern-medicine-lake-forest

08/10/2026

We are sitting down with WisDOT.

On January 19, PCI of Illinois & Wisconsin producers meet the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's Bureau of Structures in Madison. It is the first formal working meeting between the two groups.

WisDOT opens with where precast stands on Wisconsin bridges and what the department needs. Then it is an open conversation, and producers bring their own priorities to the table.

Producer members, tell us you are coming and help set the agenda: https://pciiw.org/wisdot-meeting

07/10/2026

Every precast panel starts with steel you never see.

Worth Steel & Machinery in Alsip, Illinois has been drawing wire since 1979. They make A1064 smooth and deformed reinforcing wire, galvanized and annealed wire, and cold drawn bar, shipped in coil or cut to length. AASHTO certified and ISO 9001:2015 registered.

Worth Steel is an associate member of PCI of Illinois & Wisconsin. Producers looking for reinforcing wire can reach Jim DeGrado there.

https://pciiw.org/associates/worth-steel

06/10/2026

Architects and engineers: pick a date and our producers will come to your office.

One hour, one learning unit or PDH, lunch on us. The people teaching it run precast plants in Illinois and Wisconsin, so bring the project that is on your desk right now and ask them about it.

Topics include thin brick and formliner finishes, total precast, FEMA safe rooms, sustainability and transportation. Free for your firm, in person or online.

Request a session: https://pciiw.org/ceu-pdh

05/10/2026

The dugouts at Field 32 in Lemont are precast concrete. Each one was cast in a plant, trucked to Centennial Park, and set as a finished building.

The brick you see was cast into the wall with a formliner and painted. No mortar, no loose units, nothing to rebuild after ten Illinois winters.

Field 32 is a fully accessible ballfield, rebuilt by the Lemont Park District for $1.2 million and reopened in April 2025. If your park board is pricing a dugout, restroom or concession stand, drive over and look at one in use.

https://pciiw.org/post/lemont-field-32-precast-dugouts

02/10/2026

Costume party for a good cause. Our associate member RHK Construction brings back the Drop Dead Gala on Saturday, October 24 at Two Brothers Roundhouse in Aurora.

Every ticket supports Trowel Trades in Education, RHK's program that gets students in Kane and Kendall county schools hands-on with thin brick, caulk, and jobsite safety.

Magic during cocktail hour, a live DJ, reptiles, a costume contest, and $30 off tickets through the link in our story.

PCI IW associate member RHK Construction hosts its costume fundraising gala at Two Brothers Roundhouse in Aurora on October 24. Proceeds support hands-on trades education for students in Kane and Kendall counties.