Asphalt Industry News October 2006

NAPA NEWS
Key Industry Topics to be Covered at NAPA Annual Meeting
The National Asphalt Pavement Association announces that its 52nd Annual Meeting, February 18-21, 2007, at the San Francisco Marriott, will be filled with 12 educational programs and networking events. In addition, committee meetings will take place both prior to and during the annual meeting.

The meeting offers a range of educational sessions on issues from management to the environment to hot-mix asphalt (HMA) construction and the outlook for funding. Topics include:

• "Warm-Mix Asphalt: Are YOU Ready?" with speakers Eric Harm, Illinois Department of Transportation; Roger Brown, Pace Construction; and Harry Bush, Jr., Vulcan Materials Co. Attendees will gain insight into how this technology will affect the market place, and will be given information on timelines for product acceptance by DOTs and a gauge for acceptance of warm mix by customers.
• "Funding the Interstates of the Future," as discussed by Gregory M. Cohen, American Highway Users Alliance, and Dennis Faulkenberger, Ice Miller, LLC. The Highway User Trust Fund may be insolvent by 2009, and a new funding system is urgently needed.
• "Developing an Environmental Health & Safety Compliance Tool," puts together a game plan that can be used to smoothly run EHS compliance operations. Attendees will be able to identify federal EHS regulations that may affect operations, design a compliance calendar for keeping track of federal reporting requirements and identify state specific and local EHS compliance obligations.
• "An HMA Playbook for your Business," with speaker Dr. Vince Covello, Center for Risk Communication. Attendees will learn new tools to work with neighbors, develop positive messages for addressing negative concerns, and learn how to use the facts to support and communicate their message.

Register before January 9 to receive a discount. To register, visit www.hotmix.org, contact Assistant Meetings Planner Carol Metzger at cmetzger@hotmix.org, or call toll-free at 1-888-468-6499.

NAPA, FHWA, AASHTO to Host Workshop on Conservation
In other news, NAPA, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), in cooperation with the Asphalt Pavement Association of Indiana, are sponsoring a National Workshop on Materials and Energy Conservation for Hot Mix Asphalt. The event will be held November 1-2 at the Adam's Mark Hotel, Indianapolis.

This 1 1/2 day workshop will focus on materials and energy issues affecting the production and economics of HMA. Coping with the current reality of availability and cost of materials and energy is vital for ensuring the viability of our national infrastructure. Charles Potts, CEO of Heritage Construction and Materials and a nationally known leader in asphalt recycling issues, will provide the keynote address.

For more information and online registration, visit www.hotmix.org.

Roadtec Expands Factory
Efficiency to increase
Manufacturing of Roadtec's Shuttle Buggy material transfer vehicle and pavers has started up in the new addition to the company's facility in Chattanooga, TN. A state-of the art paint department is also part of the ongoing growth of the company.

The facility upgrade allows Roadtec to further refine its cellular manufacturing approach, which is a key component of the company's lean manufacturing methods. Roadtec builds its pavers, mills, material transfer vehicles and soil stabilizers in product-focused work groups —cells — which house all operations to manufacture a family of products. Roadtec is expecting a 30-percent average cycle time reduction across all products as a result of this upgrade.

Existing manufacturing space vacated by the Shuttle Buggy and paver teams will be used to provide more space for the increased production of Roadtec milling machines and the new line of soil stabilizers.

To handle the increased output of the manufacturing cells, the Roadtec paint department has also received a major upgrade in space and technology.