It started with a simple powerful idea
By Jeff Winke
To truly appreciate a company and its success and prominence in its industry it helps to know its roots. For Etnyre International it means going way back to the turn of the century… not this century, but the century before!
Since 1898–the year soft drink Pepsi-Cola got its name, automobile manufacturer Enzo Ferrari is born, and Commodore Dewey destroys the Spanish squadron in the first battle of the Spanish-American war in the Battle of Manila Bay–E.D. Etnyre & Co. has been manufacturing a wide range of equipment that serve the asphalt roadbuilding and pavement preservation industry. From asphalt distributors to chip spreaders and storage tanks to trailers, Etnyre can be said to have “paved the way” for its customers’ success through the equipment it provides the asphalt paving contractor.
The company founder, Edward D. Etnyre was an inventive, industrious man with a consuming interest in the welfare of his fellow man. He designed and made products for others just as carefully as he would for his own use. This took deep, personal commitment coupled with a depth of customer involvement. He passed that orientation down with the company’s legendary commitment to the market.
In recent years, the company has expanded via acquisition to include BearCat Manufacturing, SMF, Inc.–an industry-leading metal fabrication and welding company, and Rayner Equipment Systems (RES) which all together now make up the Etnyre International organization.
RES is a good fit since Etnyre and RES, with its portfolio of sealcoating, slurry seal, and micro surfacing machines, have an established history of collaborating together on opportunities around the world. The products that RES has built over the years are a perfect complement to the Etnyre International road preservation portfolio. Rayner Equipment Systems machines have established a reputation for high performance and long-life durability and have been supported by superior customer service, which fits exactly the way Etnyre views its products and support service offering.
BearCat Manufacturing provides the Etnyre International portfolio and the market with sprayed liquid asphalt and asphalt emulsion distributor machines, a variety of chip spreaders, and DOT-compliant crack sealing equipment
As a leader in chip seal and sprayed liquid asphalt and asphalt emulsion machinery, Etnyre International can offer several quality pavement preservation treatment options. Cape seal is the combination of chip seal covered by a layer of microsurfacing, which is considered one of the best road maintenance products on the market.
Another pavement preservation treatment combination uses chip seal covered by an aggregate loaded sealcoat which is sprayed over the chip seal. This process incorporates the small stone particles in the sealcoat to “lock” the chip in place, thereby leaving a solid black surface which is designed to improve line striping visibility and traffic skid resistance. All of the pavement preservation treatments offered by Etnyre are designed to be effective on their own, but when combined they can complement each other and are expected to form an even better preservation treatment.
The manufacturing challenges in the world today have proven devastating to many companies, however the Etnyre International operation has been employing dedicated targeted production teams to maintain a manufacturing-commitments schedule designed to eliminate delays. The objective is to keep the supply chain production lines producing the machinery needed to keep preserving our roads!
The company has the internal capabilities which include an 8 KW fiber laser, break presses, plasma tables and robotic welding to manufacture many parts that would have otherwise been dependent on the strained supply chain. Being in control of many aspects of the fabrication process provides Etnyre the luxury to adapt quickly and maintain reasonable delivery deadlines.
Since customers in the asphalt pavement markets number one request is for their equipment to be durable and easy to use, those have been the hallmark of the Etnyre International organization.
The voice of the customers has guided Etnyre International since the start in its product design and development, and its acquisition of companies to strengthen what it offers the asphalt paving market, as the supplier of quality equipment and as a true asphalt road building industry leader.
For more information, please visit www.etnyre.com or call 815-732-2116
Jeff Winke is a business and construction writer based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He can be reached through jeff_winke@yahoo.com
