An employee at Souris Valley Industries in Weyburn has received one of the top designations possible from the National Precast Concrete Association. Earlier this month, Nikolai Martens received his Master Precaster designation.

To become a Master Precaster, six Precast university courses must be completed on topics covering Production and Quality. The courses include production, quality, safety, technical and leadership.

“I went to Orlando, to Houston, to Texas, to all kinds of different places, and I took classes in precast,” explained Martens, who is the quality control manager at SVI. “It makes your life a bit easier, and you understand a bunch more about concrete, pretty much,” he added. 

“Earning the Master Precaster designation is no easy feat,” said Fred Grubbe, NPCA President, in a written release “However, once they have completed the courses, the students understand the processes that go into manufacturing high-quality precast concrete products at a much deeper level and are better equipped to enhance their workplaces and advance their careers as well as teach and develop other employees.”

The designation was presented to Martens at a ceremony during the Precast Show 2020 in Fort Worth, Texas on March 5th. He is one of 50 Master Precaster graduates in this year’s class. He also has the distinction of being the first employee at SVI to earn the designation.

“I am the first one of many more maybe. Who knows?”