Expert Advice
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Adding Milling to Service Capabilities
A tough choice that can reward By Jeff Winke The big decision to jump ahead or not? Many asphalt paving contractors are there at the edge. They teeter ... weighing the pros and cons of adding their own cold planer to their equipment fleet. The question being wrestled...
Key Considerations
Time to upgrade to a better sweeper? By Jeff Winke Timing. The key consideration for everything in life. It governs choices, decisions, and luck--both good and bad. Timing is either in the realm of control--something planned for or it's unanticipated, unexpected... a...
Color Sealcoating Best Uses
Aesthetic appearance improves with color By Jeff Winke A pavement’s condition and functionality speaks volumes about the establishment that it serves. A well-groomed and maintained asphalt-paved parking lot, for instance, will reveal the owner’s value for safety and...
Heat or No Heat Asphalt Repair
How best to proceed in pavement repair and patching By Jeff Winke When facing the need for an asphalt pavement repair or patching project, contractors can choose between reheat technology or no heat methods. The heat / no-heat decision is dependent upon the condition...
It’s Dangerous Out There
Safety Should Be Priority One! By Jeff Winke One issue that surfaces frequently in paving and construction industry websites, magazines, blogs, and books is the issue of safety. It makes total sense when you consider the volatile mix of people, technologically complex...
Adapting During Covid-19
Sealcoating contractors are resilient By Jeff Winke The dang virus is affecting the sealcoating market. The coronavirus is having an impact on the work and when customers want it completed. "Some sealcoat customers want to delay work during the pandemic, while others...
Maximizing A Paver’s Trade-In Value
Demonstrate a well-serviced productive history By Jeff Winke The life of asphalt pavers is demanding. They do not just move asphalt mixtures--a highly abrasive material--they push, shove, heat, flatten and smooth it using a long chain of interdependent subsystems. One...
Sealcoating Performance
Sealer Film Formation Mechanism and the Importance of Proper Cure Conditions By Girish C. Dubey Majority sealcoatings are water-based coatings, either based on refined tar (RTS) or asphalt emulsion (AE). Such coatings are safe to handle, store, and provide years of...
Sealcoat Additives
Enhance both the project and contractor’s reputation benefit By Jeff Winke In his paper, “Sealcoating Additives--An Overview,” Girish C. Dubey, president of STAR, Inc., Columbus, Ohio, wrote: “Simply defined, additives are materials added to enhance the properties of...
Recycled/Reclaimed ASPHALT
Saves money and the environment By Jeff Winke Hands down, recycled or reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is America’s most recycled material. A report from the Federal Highway Administration shows that 80 percent of the asphalt pavement that’s removed each year during...
Communicating the Cost Benefit
of Sealcoating to New and Prospective Customers by Pavement Coatings Technology Council As most successful industry professionals understand, communication is key for fostering business growth. In fact, good communication is often the bridge to move customers from...
The Rental Option
Sometimes renting a paver makes more sense By Jeff Winke The construction equipment rental market has exhibited steady growth in recent years. It has reached record revenues of $93 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $122 billion in 2024, according to...
How COVID-19 is Affecting the Pavement Industry
By Gary S. Goldman, Gary S. Goldman & Associates, LLC We’re living in a time of uncertainty, which is amplified by the global struggle with coronavirus--a novel pathogen that even the world’s top medical researchers do not fully understand. A recent Wells Fargo...
Small Pavers, Big Producers
Size can make the difference on meeting needs By Jeff Winke Small asphalt paving machines occupy a comfortable, valuable, and identifiable niche in the paving equipment market. The smaller, commercial class of pavers––basically anything 16,000 pounds or less––often...
Acetone Paint May Turn Green
Every once in a while, I get a call asking why a customer’s white paint turned a lovely shade of minty green. I always know it’s the acetone paint, and the answer to the question is that it somehow reacts with older asphalt. I’ve had no issues with layouts on newer...
Preparing to Succeed
Steps sealcoat contractors should take for a successful season By Jeff Winke With the construction and paving season fast approaching, the sealcoat contractor needs to be fully prepared with the right equipment and tools ready to go. “The key to a successful start of...
Selecting the Best Sealcoat Product
Research and a little help to get the right formulation By Jeff Winke Each type of asphalt sealer has different performance characteristics and application traits. As a solid starting point, it can be best to find and work with a reputable material supplier who can...
Fixing Potholes
Avoid common problems, patiently follow the process By Krystal Strassman It happens to the best asphalt paved surface.... the dreaded pothole. Potholes are depressions in a paved surface that can vary in size and shape. They are caused by the expansion and contraction...
Good Training Brings Best Results
How learning infrared patching done right can bring profits By Jeff Winke Infrared patching is a method of blending new asphalt with existing to create a joint-free integral patch. The truck-mounted machine is capable of heating the existing pavement material to a...
Intelligent Compaction is the Key
Long-lasting, durable surfaces result from quality compaction By Jeff Winke The most elemental meaning of the word “compaction,” is the exertion of force on something so that it becomes more dense. In the realm of road construction, compaction is considered one of the...
Sealcoat Additives Enhance the Protective Coating
Greater Adhesion, Cohesion, Viscosity and More By Jeff Winke Starting point: Sealcoating is a protective coating to asphalt pavement, which provides a layer of protection from water, oils, and U.V. damage. And quite simply, sealcoat additives are designed to enhance...
Law Abiding?
Understanding Sealcoating’s Regulatory Cluster By Jeff Winke Doing good. Being good. That’s pretty much what every contractor wants to follow. In a sense, being law abiding corporate citizens. When it comes to asphalt sealcoating standards, one can defer to Anne P....
Smoothing the Way
How to repair and resurface asphalt pavement through milling By Jeff Winke When an asphalt surface becomes rough for motorists to drive on or people to walk on that’s the time when it needs to be roughed up further. Milling is the process used before repairs or...
Eight Tips to Getting the Most ROI from Your Sealcoating Equipment
By Maury Bagwell Maximizing return on investment doesn’t take a mathematician. To bring in the most green, have the right setup and select a sealcoating machine that’s powerful, easy to maintain and supported by a reliable manufacturer. Follow these eight tips to get...
