Meet APM Canada Blade Tech, Duane Prylowski!
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Duane presented with his Craftsperson of the Year Award, January 2024.
This month’s spotlight features APM Canada Blade Tech, Duane Prylowski. Duane was introduced to the industry by fellow Superintendent Steven Semeniuk in 2010. Since then, he has transitioned into the Specialty Services side of the business as a Blade Technician. Most recently, Duane was awarded the Craftsperson of the Year at our recent Awards Gala in January. Read more below to get his perspective on success in the business.
What are some roles you have at work, and outside of work?
Blader in training, Millwright, Foreman, parent … keeping all the motorcycles, snowmobiles, and ATVs running in and around my hometown of Evansburg, Alberta, Canada.
What is your official job title with APM?
Specialty Services Blade Tech
What led you to this industry and how did you first learn about APM?
I started with Alstom, which transitioned to APM. The Alstom Millwright Boiler Site Superintendent at my local power plant, Steven Semeniuk, is a friend of mine and got me set up working as a millwright.
What’s one thing that surprised you about working with APM?
APM is a tight-knit group of people. They treat you well and are very accommodating when it comes to any personal issues that come up.
What is a typical workday for you?
The workday varies as I have a few roles. The last 6 months, I have been acting as Superintendent on a 1956 GE steam turbine, so a lot of sourcing and manufacturing parts, organizing manpower, meetings, coordinating with other trades, dealing with customer management and their trades people. As a Millwright, I’m given some challenging tasks working with others that have also been in this trade for quite some time. Blading has been a great experience.
What energizes you at work?
Being able to work on different machines from Steam, Gas, and Aero keeps this job interesting. Also playing different roles at jobs and traveling around experiencing different cities and towns (sometimes with Aero in a field in the middle of nowhere). Being given the opportunity to solve problems and figure out how we're going to get this task done makes the days enjoyable.
What do you find the most challenging in your role?
Problem solving, keeping the job moving in the right direction, coordinating actions and manpower accordingly. The biggest challenge though is being away from family for an extended amount of time.
What do you find the most challenging in your role?
The variety of machines, tasks, and roles. There is no shortage of support, be it mechanical, engineering, parts, or personnel with APM.
What do you like most about working with APM?
Being offered training and learning from the best in the business is vital in career development. If you stick with APM, the opportunity is endless. They won’t hesitate to send you off to learn and will send you jobs that suit you. Hence the reason I was offered Blader position as I’m not enjoying being away from family for a long period of time. To come into the office with a problem like that and given a solution shows they really do care about you and want to keep you around.
How has APM helped you in your career development?
I’m a Journeyman, Motorcycle/Automotive, and Industrial Mechanic (Millwright). I’ve obtained a handful of certifications in these trades (mostly product specific).
What courses, certifications, or programs did you complete?
In the Millwright world, we would have done blading, supervision training, and product specific familiarity training on a range of machines.
What is your proudest moment with APM?
To be able to bring my family and have them present while receiving the Craftsman Award was definitely a great moment.
Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?
Countless people from my first superintendent, Steven Semeniuk, to Jim Whitfield (this year’s Superintendent of The Year Award winner). It seems every time you work with a skilled trades person to supervision there’s always knowledge to take away.
How do you prefer to spend your days off?
Days off go from dirt-biking and snowmobiling to bringing the family along to the river for a swim, or to the bush trails picking wild raspberries and strawberries. We’ve also moved to a bigger ranch, seeing new animals whenever I come home from work which started with my 5-year-old girl catching a rooster from the local rodeo. There’s no shortage of fun to be had out here. From burning around on the ATVs to shooting targets.
How do you balance your career at APM and family?
Aside from my bosses knowing what type of jobs I prefer, to my family coming along for the ride on short jobs or coming up for a visit on the dreadfully long jobs, we always figure out a way to spend time together. The spring is slow for APM up here, so we make up the lost time then, which is great to have a couple months off.
What advice do you have for prospective APM candidates?
Put full effort into it. You don’t have to be the smartest guy, but if you work hard and want to learn and take pride in your tasks, you’ll be around for as long as you’d like. I’d rather have a green worker with a great attitude than a senior tradesman that I can’t trust.
What is a non-work-related accomplishment that you’re proud of?
I’ve won the world’s longest motorcycle ice race twice (Num Bum 24-Hour Ice Race). One of which beating the American team [the Ice Holes] by seconds after 24 hours of riding. I’ve also won many 6-hour ice races along with plenty of summer motorcycle races.
Do you have a nickname at work?
They started calling me “Prybar” when I first got into the trade. I assume it’s due to my last name being Prylowski. I hope that’s why – Lol.
How do you define success?
Defining success has changed for me from working your whole life and chasing money to having a family that gets along and has a beautiful place to live. While we do still need the dollars, I’m happy to work at a job I enjoy, for a company that allows me to give my family the best life can give them.