The History Behind
Summit Utility Structures

S

ummit Utility Structures, LLC. is a Minority Owned enterprise that specializes in meeting the needs of the Utility Industry.

Summit Manufacturing Inc. was created in 1988 by Raj Pawar and Bob Butterworth. It became the 4th largest transmission and telecommunications tubular steel pole manufacturer in the country by 1998. PennSummit Tubular, LLC was acquired out of bankruptcy in 2003 and grew to become the 3rd largest utility transmission pole manufacturer in the country by 2008. Summit Utility Structures was established in 2014, initially as a bolt and base plate supplier for the pole industry. As opportunities arose Raj Pawar dove back into his favorite industry, engineered steel tubular poles!

The Management Team

Centuries of combined experience in the steel pole manufacturing industry makes our team the best!

Rajendra 'Raj' Pawar
Rajendra 'Raj' PawarPresidentFounder
Raj has been owner and president of steel fabrication facilities for more than 25 years. He started Summit Manufacturing, LLC in 1988, and sold it ten years later. He then bought PennSummit Tubular, LLC from bankruptcy and made it the third largest pole manufacturer in the U.S.A. After a second failed attempt at retiring, he started Summit Utility Structures in 2012. He has been involved in steel pole manufacturing industry since 1968 and holds a Bachelor Degree in Structural Engineering and Manufacturing Management. Raj was the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year for Pennsylvania in 1998.
Rob Craig
Rob CraigExecutive Vice PresidentEngineering & Sales
Rob is a graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute and is a licensed
Professional Engineer in 18 states. He has been involved in the steel pole industry since 2001. Rob joined S.U.S. in 2015. He is responsible for overseeing all the structure designs produced by Summit Utility Structures. He supervises a staff of around a dozen engineers and drafters.
Dan Bannon
Dan BannonVice PresidentSales
Dan’s role at S.U.S. is to increase and maintain our sales and coordinate with our local representatives to gain new markets. He is also in charge of our customer relations. Dan has been working in the utility market since 1993 and started to work specifically in the steel pole industry in 2016. He graduated from the Wenworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Massachusetts.
Bob Barrett
Bob Barrett Controller
Bob Barrett joined Summit Utility Structures, LLC in March 2020 as a Senior Staff Accountant. He has almost three decades of experience as an Accountant, Controller and Chief Financial Officer in the Manufacturing industry, primarily in the areas of Transportation and Utilities.
Maya Pawar-Polack
Maya Pawar-PolackVice President Marketing Manager & Operation
Maya was born into the pole industry and grew up with the companies of her father. Maya worked for the marketing and sales department between 2006 and 2008. After ten years away from the poles, she is back to stay. Maya has a bachelor’s degree from Saint Joseph’s University and a Masters from the University of Pennsylvania.
Kristin Osifat
Kristin OsifatHuman Resources
Kristin is in charge of payroll, employee’s benefits, recruitment, safety and employee engagement. She has 30 years of experience in Human Resources in the manufacturing industry. Kristin started working for S.U.S. in 2019.
Suzette Persaud-Walck
Suzette Persaud-WalckProject Manager
Suzette provides the operational management for all the projects of S.U.S. Her role is to monitor, report, and coordinate the projects being produced. She has 7 years of experience in the pole industry. She is a graduate of Katherine Gibbs College and New York University.

The Production Team

Centuries of combined experience in the steel pole manufacturing industry

Robert 'Bobby' Robinson
Robert 'Bobby' RobinsonProduction Manager
Bobby started his career in the pole industry with with Raj Pawar back in 1996. He stayed in the plant during the Valmont era. As a production manager, his role is to make sure that the shop runs efficiently. He is responsible for the production schedule.
Mike Kelly
Mike KellyPlant Manager
Mike also started his career in the pole industry 22 years ago with Raj Pawar. He joined the S.U.S. six years ago. As a plant manager, his role is to help facilitate a efficiently running shop. He solves the production issues when they come up and he keeps track of the maintenance.
Steve Shonk
Steve ShonkQuality Control Manager
Steve is an AWS Certified Welding Inspector. S.U.S benefits from his 30 years of experience in welding, metal fabrication, structural weld inspection, non destructive testing, and field non conformance inspection and resolution. Steve supervises and mentors the inspection team.
Thomas A Smith IV
Thomas A Smith IVProduction Control Manager
Tom schedules the production in the shop and manages the production control and purchasing teams. He also purchase and negotiates pricing on most raw material. He is the contact of most S.U.S. vendors. Tom was a welder fabricator for 15+ years and join S.U.S. in 2016.
Ernesto Carranza
Ernesto CarranzaSecond Shift Supervisor
Ernesto is supervising the shop during the second shift. He joined Summit Utility Structures in 2016 after graduating from the Welder Training & Testing Institute (Allentown, PA).
James Kalinchok
James KalinchokSenior Supervisor
James started working for the pole industry in 1999. He worked for PennSummit, Summit Utility Structures and in between for Valmont. He is responsible for the production of the tube department.
James Petrill
James PetrillYard Supervisor
James has been working in the pole industry for 25 years. He is currently supervisor of the yard, corrcoat, and blast. Over the years, he has ran every single machine of the plant. He was welder and laid out in the tower shop.
Scott Dietz
Scott DietzSenior Buyer
Scott buys everything for S.U.S. He has 30 years of experience in the machine industry. He has been working for the pole industry since 2018.
Gensy Toribio
Gensy ToribioArm Shop Leadman
Gensy has been working in the steel pole industry since 2006. He is currently the lead man in charge of the arm shop
Patrick Dunnigan
Patrick DunniganSecond Shift Supervisor (day)
Patrick has been working in the steel pole industry since 2010. Started his career in slip joint/seam repair and quickly moved into the tower shop as a fitter/welder. Patrick joined S.U.S in October of 2020 and is currently overseeing production of the Tower shop on day shift.

Looking for a great job opportunity? Contact Us!

We are constantly looking for new talent to join our growing team. We are especially interested in individuals with welding, maintenance, or machine programming experience. We are also providing in house training for our recruits to acquire new competences.

See job offers

Looking for a great job opportunity? Contact Us!

We are constantly looking for new talent to join our growing team. We are especially interested in individuals with welding, maintenance, or machine programming experience. We are also providing in house training for our recruits to acquire new competences.

See job offers

Global expertise in manufacturing custom engineered steel poles

Our engineering and manufacturing teams provide the utility, lighting, transportation and communication industries with the the exact steel poles they need.

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