Hall of Fame entry adds to Prischak's legacy

2021 is turning out to be a year of milestones for Joseph Prischak.

First, the company he founded, Plastek Group, a major global injection molder and toolmaker based in Erie, Pa., was named Plastics News Processor of the Year.

A few weeks later, he celebrated his 90th birthday. (Joe expects to see many more. His father made it to 101.)

Next up, he will be joining the Plastics Hall of Fame as one of 10 members of the 2021 class.

On its own, Prischak's role as the founder of one of the best-known toolmakers and largest packaging molders in the United States would merit attention from the Plastics Academy. But he's made an even bigger mark on the industry as a supporter of plastics industry training.

Prischak is considered the father of the Plastics Engineering Technology program at Penn State Erie, which has produced more than 1,000 graduates and is the largest undergraduate plastics program in the country.

Prischak was born in West Aliquippa, Pa., near Pittsburgh, and the family moved to a farm when he was 8 months old.

"I remember plowing behind a horse. We did not have a tractor in those days," he said in a telephone interview.

"One thing I always say — I learned one thing on a farm — and that was I didn't want to be a farmer. It was nothing but hard work," he said. "You had to get up by about 4:35 in the morning, go out and do all the chores. Then you went in and you got cleaned up and ate breakfast, then we walked about three miles to go to school. When I came to the city, working in a restaurant or a factory, that wasn't really work."

He attended Conneaut Valley High School, near Springboro, Pa., where he took vocational agriculture classes, including a machine shop course.

"They taught us the basics and that's where I got the desire to learn more," Prischak said. Asked if he had a talent for it, he said: "Well, I don't like to brag, but I like to be the best in everything I do, or I don't want to do it."

He graduated in 1946 and moved to Erie at age 18, where he worked bussing tables and other jobs. Before long he was hired at Erie Resistor Corp., one of the first companies in the United States to own an injection molding machine.

"That's where I got plastics in my blood. I was grinding scrap plastic for about two months. And then they wanted somebody to work in the tool room. That was before the days of apprenticeships," he said. "They taught me to run all the different machines, the grinders and the lathes and milling machines."

Then came a turning point. Prischak was earning 35 cents, and the company offered him a nickel raise. Top money was 45 cents an hour.

"I went to the boss and I said, 'Look, I think I deserve top money. I think I'm worth 45 cents an hour. I'm only making 40 cents.'

"So there were two partners, and one guy says, 'Well, I have to talk to my partner.' So the next day, he came back and he says: 'I talked to my partner. And he says no. We can't give you another nickel raise. 40 cents an hour is all we can pay you.' I said, 'Well if that's the case, I quit.'"

Prischak joked, "That's the reason toolboxes have handles. So you can close them up and walk away." In 1956, he and two partners founded Triangle Tool Co., which was the beginning of Plastek.

After years earning a reputation as an expert in the toolmaking sector, Prischak made the leap into injection molding in 1971.

"I think we started with nine injection molding machines for molding safety razors," he said. In those days, Prischak set the molds and started up all the presses.

"And then later on, we got a contract to do deodorant sticks. That's back before they had ovals — all of the deodorant sticks were round. We came up with a way of doing ovals, and we got a contract. And it was huge. We ordered 125 molding machines from Cincinnati [Milacron," Prischak said.

Soon Plastek Group was one of the largest plastics companies in Erie, which was already a hotbed of injection molding and tooling. Then Plastek went global, expanding to Europe, Brazil and Mexico.

While successful in the molding and tooling business, Prischak is perhaps more proud of his work supporting education. In 1984, local plastics industry leaders approached Penn State Behrend in Erie about starting a plastics program to ease the always-present shortage of skilled workers.

Prischak and other local leaders worked closely with John Lilley, the college's provost and dean, to start the plastics engineering program.

"It became very successful. I think we're probably the No. 1 college course for plastics engineering in the United States," Prischak said.

John Beaumont, one of three founding faculty members of the plastics engineering technology program and a member of the 2015 Plastics Hall of Fame class, had high praise in his endorsement of Prischak.

"Though Mr. Prischak was certainly a pioneer in the plastics industry, I feel possibly his biggest impact on the plastics industry has been in his initiatives to help others through his educational initiatives," Beaumont wrote.

"Joe not only helped define what the program was to be, but he provided a significant portion of the initial funding required to launch the program."

Prischak also helped start a plastics engineering program at Richmond Community College in Hamlet, N.C., near another Plastek plant. The program today is housed in the school's Joseph J. Prischak Engineering Technology Center.

RCC President William McInnis wrote of Prischak: "His vision and energy inspire every person he meets, because Joe Prischak treats his employees like his family, and he treats our community like his own."

Joseph and wife, Isabel, have donated $1 million for Plastek employees and their families to attend Penn State Erie, plus another $1 million for students from his high school.

Prischak also considers a publishing venture that he launched in 1998 to be an educational effort. That's when he and some partners launched Moldmaking Technology magazine. He sold the publication to Gardner Business Media in 2004.

"I saw the need for more education for mold makers," Prischak said. "If I had a second life, I might go into the publishing business. That's a good business."

Plastek has a strong reputation in Erie as a family-owned company that treats workers well, with a benefit package that includes health insurance with low paycheck deductions and low out-of-pocket expenses, free dental and vision insurance, and a 401(k) with matching contributions.

The company has nurses and doctors on staff and makes a point to emphasize healthy lifestyles and wellness, too. Prischak said Plastek has hung on to its company culture even as it has branched out around the world.

"You take good care of your people, and you treat them like you would like to be treated. What more can I say?" he said. "I think people talk very kindly about Plastek. They're proud to be able to say, 'I work at Plastek,' or 'I used to work at Plastek.' And here in Erie, almost everybody has been to work at Plastek."

Prischak was company CEO until 2002, and he's currently chairman. But a leadership team led by four of his sons are in charge today.

"When I retired, I got a volleyball, and I threw it at each one of the boys. And I said, 'Now the ball's in your court.' And I never once interfered with them," he said. "I think the boys are doing a great job. I don't think I could have done what they're doing. The technology has got ahead of me a little bit."

Keeping the focus on family, Prischak credits his success to his wife of 61 years, Isabel.

"I think I would say what made me successful was having a wife that's very understanding and one that believes in you and doesn't complain when she has to raise all the children while I'm out here working," he said. "She's the one that really, really deserves a lot of credit for what I'm accomplishing today."