Dennis Prischak named 2024 Penn State Alumni Fellow

ERIE, Pa. — Dennis J. Prischak, president and CEO of the Plastek Group, an Erie-based manufacturer of plastics packaging for the personal care, pharmaceutical and food and beverage industries, has been named one of 12 Penn State Alumni Fellows for 2024.

The lifelong title of Alumni Fellow is the highest award given by the Penn State Alumni Association. The award, which originated in 1973, is given to a select group of alumni who are leaders in their professional fields.

Prischak earned an MBA from Penn State Behrend in 1992. He serves on the college’s Council of Fellows and is a Laurel Circle member of the Mount Nittany Society.

At Plastek, he has continued the legacy of his father, the late Joseph Prischak, who founded the company in 1971. He and his brothers — Daniel, Douglas and Donald Prischak — run the company, which operates manufacturing sites in the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Mexico.

Dennis Prischak joined Plastek as a toolmaker in 1983, shortly after earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He worked as a process engineer, process engineering manager and as general manager of the company’s spectrum molding division. He served as global vice president of tooling and engineering and then, in 2002, following the retirement of his father, became president and CEO.

In 2022, the Plastek Group and the Prischak family named the Prischak Robotics and Automation Lab at Penn State Behrend. The $1.2 million facility is equipped with robots, sensors, vision systems and manufacturing control systems. The lab is open to industry, including Erie’s plastics companies, which can test new ideas and processes without interrupting their production work.

“Dennis has supported Penn State Behrend in many ways over many years,” Chancellor Ralph Ford said. “His family’s support of the college, and their commitment to building and keeping a business in Erie, has had tremendous impact in the local business community.”

Prischak’s nonprofit service includes work with the Erie Downtown Development Corporation, the ExpERIEnce Children’s Museum and Africa 6000 International, which works to provide fresh water to communities in Africa.

Alumni are nominated for the fellows award by Penn State colleges and campuses and accept an invitation from University President Neeli Bendapudi to return to their home college or campus to share their experience with students, faculty and administrators.