Expert Advice
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The Fix for Pavement Cracks
Crack sealing smooths the way By Jeff Winke Procrastination may be the biggest foe a contractor wrestles with when looking at pavement cracks that need to be fixed. Cracks come in all shapes and sizes. Sealing them in a timely manner is one of the most effective ways...
Sealer Additives Add Up
A key to improved profitability By Jeff Winke Any help in boosting….increasing….turbocharging….. profit for an asphalt paving sealcoat contractor is definitely welcome. Skip the flim-flam, sure-bet promises. What really works? What can be done to improve the projects...
The Cold Truth
It’s Time to Winterize Your Sweeper By Matt Starnes Street sweeping has seasonal demands. Especially in the northern states and Canada. You can’t just park your sweeper for the winter. There is no secret to getting the longest life out of your street sweeper....
Striping & Marking Equipment Needs
Time to assess and upgrade By Jeff Winke End of year seems to be the time when things are in a swirl. There is a mix of nostalgia, recollection, and reflection, and the holidays. It definitely appears to be the time when assessment and planning take place. Contractors...
The Workmanship Warranty
A key to winning more asphalt paving business By Jeff Winke The Roman poet Ovid once said “Make the workmanship surpass the materials.” That was back in 43 BC, but that truism can easily apply to 2023. One has to wonder how quality was verified back then. Did the...
Infrared Asphalt Repair
The solution for many needs By Jeff Winke Even squinting hard through lenses Windex-clean with glasses firmly planted on the nose, it isn’t possible to see infrared. It’s at a wavelength just greater than that of the red end of the visible light spectrum. There are no...
Winter Prep
Time to methodically shut down, prepare for next year By Jeff Winke Time to shut down for winter. Busy production season has finally ended and most would love to turn it all off and walk away until Spring shows any first signs. But that voice of reason in your head...
Sweeper Maintenance
A precaution that ensures productivity, and profit By Jeff Winke Curiosity is good. It can lead to interesting useful information and sometimes to information that veers off the topic being researched. Google the word “sweepers” and “street sweepers” with the intent...
Safety is second to none
For the paving contractor there is no equal in importance By Jeff Winke Asphalt paving is dangerous. Heavy equipment, high temperature materials, and the pressing need to quickly produce quality results can prove challenging. “The most important responsibility a...
Contractor Operations Software
Upgrades a business to super duty By Jeff Winke The pad and pen with a nearby calculator have long been replaced by a computer and a wide array of computer software for most industries. The fundamental definition for software is it is the entire set of programs,...
Sealcoating & Crack Sealing
Two peas, but different pods By Jeff Winke Asphalt pavement is wonderful. It looks great with its midnight black sheen after being freshly placed. It is durable and can last a long time. Like everything in life, asphalt requires maintenance and care. And if it is less...
The Line Striping Pavement Marking Challenge
Self-perform or contract out? By Jeff Winke Do it yourself or farm it out? That becomes a critical question for contractors to wrestle with in respect to some of the services they offer customers. One area of an asphalt paving contractor’s world where the question is...
Selling the Pluses of Sealcoating
Managing customer expectations By Jeff Winke When applied properly, asphalt pavement sealcoat looks miraculous! The paved surface looks fresh, brand new, and as good as a 10-year-old boy dressed in his Sunday’s best. Sealcoating is the process of applying a protective...
All-Electric Sweeping with Mid-Vac Versatility
By Matt Starnes Versatility Versatility is the ability to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities. The new All-Electric CityCat VR50e Sweeper from Bucher Municipal fits that definition. There are plenty of electric compact sweepers on the market...
Sealcoating Additives Add the Extra Oomph
They can boost protection, performance By Jeff Winke Sealcoating applied to a new, freshly paved, rich black asphalt pavement surface provides a sustainable layer of protection. Adding additives to sealcoat formula can enhance its power while also tweaking elements of...
Green Practices
The asphalt paving market evolves By Jeff Winke Green represents new beginnings and growth. It also signifies renewal and abundance. Green also means to continually improve upon the manner that resources are used that results in a reduced impact to human health and...
How Pavement Cracks Form
Best treatment methods By Jeff Winke Pavement cracks. For anyone involved in asphalt paving, pavement cracks are serious stuff. They rarely foretell romance, hope, or initiative. Pop artist Annie Lennox captures it in her song “Pavement Cracks:” The city streets are...
When it comes to choosing a sweeper …
it all starts with the application By Matt Starnes What do you sweep or plan to sweep 80% of the time? That’s usually the first question our application specialists ask to determine if we (Bucher Municipal) are a good fit for a contractor or municipality. After we...
Industry leading dependable trailers
BWS & STARGATE – The power of innovation As North American business continues to experience a return to domestic manufacturing, transportation becomes all the more vital to maintaining supply chains—and nowhere is that more evident than in trucking. Keeping these...
Selling Infrared Asphalt Pavement Repair
What customers need to know By Jeff Winke Drivers traversing most any asphalt paved street today can attest to the rattling surprise when hitting a pothole. Almost simultaneously the driver lets out a loud reflexive WTF! or if more politely a GOOD GOLLY! The driver...
RAP Saves the Environment and Money
Use of recycled asphalt pavement makes sense By Jeff Winke It makes total economic and environmental sense to use recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) in an asphalt mix design. According to the Federal Highway Administration, there are approximately 2.8 million miles of...
A Green Sweep
Going green with commercial sweeping machines By Jeff Winke When it comes to green environmental practices and processes, commercial sweepers, as a market segment lead the way in innovation. A sustainable business, or a green business, is an enterprise that has...
Successful Line Striping
Thorough prep and consistent execution are key By Jeff Winke A carpentry axiom that encourages careful first steps in order to avoid extra work later on is measure twice, cut once. Actually, with the high cost of lumber these days and the cost in terms of gas and...
Winterizing with Asphalt Maintenance – 5 Items to make “Cold Weather” Safe
How late in autumn and early in spring can one go? By Marvin Joles III We spent a lot of winters in Wisconsin having to keep our equipment outdoors at Wis-Coat. Thankfully we don’t have to do that anymore and hopefully you do not have to either. Whether it’s in the...
