Joseph Prischak

Joseph J. Prischak is Chairman of the Board for the Plastek Group, a group of 12 companies globally with global headquarters in Erie, PA., now being managed by 4 of his sons. Joe retired as President and CEO in 2002. The Plastek Group is a world class manufacturer of plastic packaging of consumer products. 

Joe began his career at Erie Resistor Corporation’s plastic molding department before moving along to the tool room where he learned the plastic mold making trade. He served 2 years in the U.S. Army before starting his first company in 1956. In 1991 Joe was honored with the "Master Entrepreneur of the Year" award which is jointly sponsored by In. Magazine, Merrill Lynch, and Ernst and Young.

In addition Joe serves or has served on boards of Hospitals, Churches, Colleges, Universities, and many other institutions. In 1989 Joe was a driving force in the startup of the College of Plastics Engineering at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. Joe also started an identical plastics program in 1991 at The University of Bratislava, Slovak Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia at the time).

Throughout his career Joe was involved in many other successful ventures, including owning a large HMO, the controlling interest in a regional commuter airline, starting a publishing company, publishing over 8 trade publications, and numerous other business ventures. Joe has now decided that Africa 6000 International may be his last and most important venture, focusing his effort into saving hundreds of thousands of lives. It is his hope that this number will be in the millions before he quits counting.

Joe has made many trips to Africa. After returning from his trip there in December of 2006 he could not shake the images of seeing the dying and hungry children scrounging food from the garbage cans and from drinking contaminated water from dirty ditches. Upon seeing all this Joe and the others literally cried. “If you were there and saw these children practically dying before your very own eyes you too would cry. Just like us they're human and want to live.” He kept saying he had to do something to help these children by providing clean water so that they may live.

Thus in early 2007 "Africa 6000 International" was conceived; in May 2007 it became a reality. Joe then starting talking with John Bongiorno, President of World Serve and his former Vice-President of Sales for The Plastek Group about starting a non-profit organization to drill water wells in Africa, and the results of these talks are phenomenal. “There is nothing more satisfying than knowing you saved or helped to save a life.”

Joe is marred to his lovely wife Isabel having celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2010. They have 5 sons and 11 grand children.