Mac Switkowski, center, holds up his Capital Arguments Engineering Manager of the Year Award that was presented by Paperitalo CEO Jim Thompson, left, as Luis Henao, right, manager at Pratt Industries applauds.

ATLANTA, Ga. - Mac Switkowski of Pratt Industries was presented the 2015 Capital Arguments Engineering Manager of the Year Award at a banquet held last week in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Capital Arguments Engineering Manager of the Year Award is presented to an individual who has done an extraordinary project. Its extraordinary features can be schedule, technology, cost or all three. The award was established by Paperitalo Publications in 2008 to recognize those people and companies that have the philosophy that extraordinary projects are possible and can be done safely, responsibly and offer a great advantage to their mills with lower capital costs and saved downtime.

Switkowski was honored for being the lead engineer of Pratt Industries' new $260 million recycled paper mill that has started production in Valparaiso, Indiana. The project was completed on schedule, on budget, with a superior safety record even though there was a change in a major machinery supplier mid-project.

Pratt Industries' chairman and CEO Anthony Pratt sent along his congratulations to Switkowski.

"I would like to congratulate our great associate, Mac Switkowski, for this great award," Mr. Pratt said via video. "He's a lifetime friend and a great colleague. I can't think of anyone who deserves this honor more than Mac."

Valparaiso mill manager Jay Hennessey echoed Mr. Pratt's sentiments and congratulated Switkowski.

"I want to congratulate Mac for receiving this prestigious award," Hennessey said. "Mac's been a key to the growth of Pratt Industries, not only at this mill, but at all the mills we've built in the last 20 years. Congratulations, Mac, well done."

Mr. Pratt also noted that Switkowski has been a big part of the company's success over the years, adding, "He's been a key member of our Pratt team from the very beginning, right back to when we built our first paper mill in America in Hartford City, Indiana, back in 1988.

"For more than a quarter of a century, he's taken increasingly greater roles in our subsequent paper mills in Conyers, Georgia; Staten Island, New York; Shreveport, Louisiana and Valparaiso, Indiana," Mr. Pratt said. "And at every stop along the way, he's not only demonstrated his superb skills, but also his fantastic team spirit and can-do attitude. So, Mac, on behalf of your 5,800 colleagues at Pratt Industries, congratulations on receiving this fantastic award, and I hope you have a great evening."

The 2015 Capital Arguments Engineering Manager of the Year Award was sponsored by CR Meyer, Voith, Pro Services, Wieland, Sulzer and Talo Analytical International, Inc.

Jim Thompson, the CEO of Talo Analytic International and Paperitalo Publications, said that the award has only been presented four times since 2008.

"We give this award for projects that make people stand up and say, 'That's an outstanding project,'" Thompson said. "And that's the reason that Mac is getting this award tonight. It's the rare project that we present this honor. Tonight, we celebrate a great project."

Luis Henao of Pratt Industries said the company is lucky to have someone like Mac Switkowski, and "we're lucky that Pratt Industries is a company that's growing and provides us the opportunities to be the best we can be."

At the end of the ceremony, Switkowski said he was deeply honored to be receiving the award, but quickly added that he considers it a company achievement.

"This award is for an individual, but the reality is that when you work with others, it's not just one person's award, it's all of ours," Switkowski said.