2025 Theo Award Winner: Northeast Precast
Northeast Precast has always been deeply concerned about safety. But one of the challenges that comes with a growing company is growing the culture of safety in step with the scale of the business.
Over the past 22 years, Northeast Precast has grown steadily to become one of the nation’s largest precast concrete producers. Many years of sustained expansion, coupled with particularly strong growth during the pandemic, made it clear that the company’s safety processes and procedures needed to be strengthened to match its size and pace. Small injuries that might not sound serious carried the potential to lead to bigger risks if left unaddressed.
As founder and CEO John Ruga often says: “Business is full of risks. We can weather the ups and downs that come in the construction manufacturing industry. But the one thing that keeps me up at night is the possibility of someone not making it home to their family. Leaving workers exposed to unnecessary risk is unacceptable, and we decided to turn over every stone in pursuit of having a first-in-class safety organization.”
Tackling the Problem

Stephanie Fox, safety & insurance risk manager, Northeast Precast
By 2020, while Northeast Precast had always viewed itself as a company that cared about safety, its experience modification rate (EMR) was slipping into less-than-average territory. That was a wake-up call. A paradigm shift was needed to ensure that safety was not just a stated priority, but a lived culture embedded into every aspect of the company.
Safety was placed at the very top of the strategic plan, making it clear that it would no longer be the responsibility of a department—it would be the shared duty of every employee, from executive leadership to the production line.
This shift came to life through practical, everyday actions:
- Teaching that safety begins by looking out for each other, not just ourselves.
- Mandatory “Safety Resets” — stopping production immediately after any injury or near miss to review root causes as a team, even if it meant stopping mid pour.
- Excellent housekeeping, recognizing that slips, trips, and clutter can cascade into serious injuries.
- Investing in engineered solutions to remove hazards rather than masking them with more PPE.
- Targeting leading causes of injuries — for example, by identifying hand injuries as a major risk area and designing safer processes around them.
As President Mark Gorgas explained: “Safety became everyone’s responsibility—from leadership and HR to crew foremen and line workers. In 2024, we strengthened that foundation by bringing in Stephanie Fox as safety and insurance risk manager and advancing Josh Grossman to director of operational excellence, ensuring we had the leadership in place to keep moving forward.”
Under Fox and Grossman’s guidance, the company has been able to accelerate change and raise its safety program to an elite level.
One of the most impactful innovations has been the safety and operations section of the company’s portal, developed by Northeast Precast’s IT team with guidance from the safety group. This integrated system consolidates certifications, training records, incident data, and documentation into one platform that can be updated in hours instead of weeks. Supervisors can instantly confirm employee qualifications, while the safety team can track injury trends and respond with targeted solutions.
Success to Build On
Today, safety conversations are no longer confined to meetings or checklists—they have become part of daily life at Northeast Precast. Employees proactively bring forward concerns, share improvements, and encourage one another to pause and think before moving forward.
Under the guidance of Fox and Grossman, that cultural shift has deepened. Employees began proudly sharing how they prevented injuries, and a simple phrase—“Have a great safe day”—took hold across the company as a daily reminder that safety comes first.
Organization: Northeast Precast * Location: Vineland, N.J.* Number of Employees: 450 * Category: Manufacturing & Heavy Industry
The results confirm the shift. Northeast Precast’s experience modification rate has dropped from 1.110 to 0.70, representing both significant cost savings and, more importantly, proof that the workforce is safer.
When it comes to receiving the Theo Award, the team couldn’t be prouder. For Northeast Precast, it tells the story of where they’ve been and how far they’ve come. Just as importantly, it reminds the team that safety is an ongoing commitment—one that will continue to grow stronger year after year. &
The Theo Award celebrates its sophomore year, honoring 32 workers’ compensation programs for their excellence and service to workers across the nation. To learn more about the award and amazing qualities each winner possesses, visit here.