At Rayner Equipment Systems, being cutting-edge is a tradition
Before Ken Talley and his team from Talley Oil visited Gordon Rayner of Rayner Equipment Systems a few years ago, they were convinced they’d need to design a whole new sealer.
Talley said the company, now in its 15th year of business since spinning off of Talley Transportation, was looking for a heavier-duty piece of equipment than what was standard; the sprayers the company had been using had a tough time standing up to thicker clay-based asphalt emulsion and modifiers, and the downtime needed for repairs and maintenance were too costly. In other words, Talley and his team were ready to work with Rayner on revolutionizing the sealcoating industry.
Turns out, Rayner already had.
“We first heard about the RaynMaker when we visited Gordon Rayner at Rayner Equipment Systems about manufacturing our own sealer product,” said Talley. The RaynMaker was Rayner’s latest offering, and it solved many of the problems Talley had in mind by improving on standard sealcoat equipment. With twin, 3-inch modified positive displacement pumps, the RaynMaker can spray a heavy-clay-modified asphalt emulsion, even when it’s further engineered with modifiers such as polymers, ground tire rubber and fine crushed aggregates –all without causing wear and profit-pinching downtime.
The design improvements didn’t stop there. The RaynMaker IIIG has wireless remote controls which allow it to be operated from up to 1,500 feet away. Some of its many unique features include a full sweep mixer; a 1,600 square-inch, filtered spray bar to help prevent tip clogs; a separate large primary filter; a retractable spray bar for ease of transport; and twin RaynPumps that are uniquely designed for high-viscosity, often modified, asphalt emulsion. For Talley, this feature is key when the project needs more friction as it allows for finely crushed aggregate designs.
Talley said after a demonstration from Rayner, he and his team were convinced they’d found exactly what they were looking for. “We don’t even own a buggy; when we saw what it was capable of, we went for it,” said Talley, who added that purchasing a RaynMaker has allowed his company to expand its business by working with new product opportunities.
“The RaynMaker is built smart by people who understand the materials they are designed to apply. With very minor adjustments the truck was doing its job a few days after purchase. Other distribution equipment can apply clay-based sealers, but at the cost of accelerated wear and tear. This machine was born out of the sealcoat world, and we are joining the effort to put that technology into a higher-production scenario.”
Breaking the seal
Gordon Rayner began working in pavement maintenance in 1974 before his brother, Rich, joined him in 1979. Much like Talley, the brothers struggled with slurry equipment that was constantly slowed by clogs and breaks. But instead of accepting the industry’s common obstacles, Gordon and Rich, a retired Air Force pilot and a former trouble shooter for General Motors, respectively, used their mechanical backgrounds to engineer a solution. In 1982, the pair released their flagship product, the RoadSaver – a slurry and micro-surfacing machine.
Since then, RES has evolved into a worldwide industry leader with hundreds of machines in 34 countries. In 2004 it began design on its first sealcoat machine, which the RES team affectionately nicknamed the “Franken Buggy” thanks to its constant state of modification and improvement. Finally, in 2006, the PavementSaver II was born.
Gordon Rayner said while the increased reliability and capability of his sealcoating equipment has since earned a loyal customer base, his competitors doubted the payoff would be worth the trouble.
“Other manufacturers thought we were crazy building a high quality, high-performance sealcoat machine, saying the market wouldn’t support it,” explained Gordon. “But we needed machines for our own use, and others began to see the value in a high-performance machine, as well. Soon, the who’s who of high-end sealcoat contractors were buying PavementSavers.”
Before long, the PavementSaver’s impressive performance and production capabilities prompted a few contractors to turn to the street and road market, which led to larger-than-expected contracts. This created a demand for an even bigger, spray-only unit designed to mix, suspend and distribute fine-aggregate-filled sealcoats.
Once again, RES was there to help shape the future of the industry.
New for 2020
In 2008, the RaynMaker was born. With its patented spray bar and larger spray area, it’s the PavementSaver’s much-bigger brother, allowing smaller companies to handle high-volume projects and contracts.
This year, RES has taken the RaynMaker several steps further with the RaynMaker IIIG with Autonomous Rate Control. In addition to all the features of the RaynMaker IIIG that Talley and his team fell in love with, the ARC provides highly accurate application rate control, simple 3-step calibration, a test tip function, plus a host of new, user-friendly upgrades. Even the ARC itself is improved; the IIIG’s version now offers a telematics option so you can see the machine’s performance remotely.
They’re the kind of advancements and innovations, said Talley, that prove RES equipment should be in any serious sealcoating company’s fleet.
“I have known Gordon Rayner for the past 15 years,” said Talley. “His experience and knowledge in this industry is irreplaceable. To be successful in this business, one must leverage as much of that as possible. Gordon’s way of doing business is replicated in his equipment. So it only made sense to purchase his product. And so far, that has rung true.”
To learn more, visit https://roadsaver.com/raynmaker-sealcoat-machine/; email RESSales@RoadSaver.com or call 916-381-8066.
