Asphalt Industry News March 2006

World of Asphalt 2006 to feature a live equipment demonstration; highway construction material prices skyrocket and more.

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World of Asphalt to Feature Live Equipment Demo Event
Industry-wide effort will spotlight "Best Practices in New Technology"
World of Asphalt 2006 will feature a live equipment demonstration event that illustrates technological advancements in roadbuilding techniques, to help industry professionals meet today's ever increasing project specifications demands.

The event is themed "Best Practices with New Technology" and will feature a variety of equipment outdoors in working conditions. Attendees can see firsthand the latest technologies to build better pavements with optimum smoothness and density. Equipment manufacturers, contractors and suppliers have joined together in this cooperative effort as an educational service to the industry.

The World of Asphalt 2006 Show and Conference will be held March 13-16, 2006 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. The show's demonstration event is scheduled for March 15 (Wednesday) from 10 a.m. to noon at the convention center.

During the World of Asphalt 2006 demonstration, equipment will operate across six lanes and demonstrate warm mix asphalt operations including milling, brooming, tacking, paving, rolling and testing. Equipment will be accessible post-event for attendees to obtain a closer look. The demonstration event is free to all show attendees and simultaneous interpretation into Spanish will be offered.

The demonstration event is being spearheaded by the National Asphalt Pavement Association's (NAPA) Associate Member Council, under the direction of Chuck Deahl, National Accounts Manager of Bomag Americas, and David Apkarian, president of Transtech Systems. NAPA is a World of Asphalt co-owner.

NAPA associate-member show exhibitors participating include Ames Engineering, Bomag Americas, Broce Mfg., Caterpillar, Cleform Tool Corp., Dynapac, E.D. Etnyre and Co., Ingersoll Rand Co., Keith Mfg., LeeBoy, PaveSmart, Process Heating, Roadtec, Sakai America, Terex Roadbuilding, Trail King Industries, Transtech Systems, Troxler Electronic Labs and Wirtgen America.

NAPA contractor members participating include APAC-Southeast Central Florida Division, Hubbard Construction Co. and Ranger Construction-North Division.

For more information, visit www.worldofasphalt.com.

Highway Construction Material Costs Skyrocket 22% in Past Two Years
Could impact efforts to improve safety & reduce congestion, says ARTBA
A 22-percent increase in the cost of materials used for highway and street construction over the past two years is eroding the impact of the new federal highway bill and will likely limit the ability of the states to meet their ever-growing transportation needs, according to an analysis by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA).

In 2005 alone, highway contractors paid 13 percent more for materials over the previous year, ARTBA's analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics' data found. By contrast, the overall rate of inflation for 2005, as measured by the consumer price index, was just 3.4 percent.

"Construction costs are going up much faster than highway construction budgets," says Alison Premo Black, the ARTBA research economist who conducted the analysis. "Last year, Congress enacted a new highway bill that increases federal funding for highways about 4.5 percent per year. This is only a fraction of the recent rise in construction costs. State governments will need additional financial resources to move forward on transportation projects that could improve road safety and reduce traffic congestion."

Black's analysis found that materials and services account for about one half of total project costs.

Increases have hit a number of important highway construction materials including iron and steel, which rose more than 60 percent in two years; asphalt paving mixtures up 10 percent; construction sand, gravel and crushed stone up 11 percent; and ready mix concrete up 18 percent. The cost of construction machinery rose 10 percent, while diesel fuel for construction vehicles rose 88 percent in two years.

Black says highway contractors are facing much higher material price increases than other sectors of the construction industry. Material prices for non-residential construction were up 7.6 percent in 2005, maintenance and repair construction material prices were up 8.7 percent, and residential construction material prices increased 7.9 percent. These differences are due to the different types of materials used in the construction process, she says.

Ingersoll Rand Celebrates Milestone
Blaw-Knox marks 75th anniversary
Ingersoll Rand Co. is preparing to celebrate a major milestone in the paving industry with the company's Blaw-Knox product line.

Ingersoll Rand purchased Blaw-Knox in 1995, and for the last decade has been committed to honoring their strong heritage in the paving industry. This year marks the 75th anniversary of Blaw-Knox's entrance into asphalt paving equipment and Ingersoll Rand is leading the celebration by reflecting on their legacy in the road construction industry.

In 1931, Blaw-Knox introduced the Ord Finisher for asphalt paving. The machine was the first paver constructed with ends resting on forms that could be raised or lowered. This technology made it possible for the use of multi-lifts without resetting the forms.

Ingersoll Rand invites all paving professionals to celebrate the heritage of Blaw-Knox products throughout 2006, and asks customers to share information on:

  • The oldest Blaw-Knox paver in operation
  • The oldest Blaw-Knox paver in existence
  • The most unique application in which a Blaw-Knox paver was used
  • The most unique jobsite on which a Blaw-Knox paver was used

In addition to these categories, customers and dealers are encouraged to submit unique stories or experiences with Blaw-Knox or Ingersoll Rand paving equipment.

Submissions can be entered on the Ingersoll Rand Blaw-Knox 75th Anniversary website, www.ir-bk75.com.

Ingersoll Rand will publish articles, photos, and interviews based on information customers submit. Prizes will also be awarded to those whose stories are used during the celebration.

Broce Hits Milestone
Company to display 10,000th broom
Broce Mfg. Co., Dodge City, KS, will have its commemorative 10,000th broom, Model 350, on display at World of Asphalt along with the Model 250 three-wheel broom. Also on display will be the Mk 1 Material Transfer Sweeper, first introduced at ConExpo 2005. Broce will also participate in the World of Asphalt equipment demonstration project.

Blacklidge to Build Polymer Handling Facilities
P2GTR may revolutionize polymer industry
Blacklidge Emulsions Inc. of Gulfport, MS announced the completion of a License Agreement with PRIME Plex LLC, Los Angeles, CA, an affiliate of Ecostar Science and Technology (Lockheed Missiles & Space Company spin-off), to build polymer handling facilities throughout the Southeastern United States to integrate a new polymer composite of worldwide significance.

The new invention, P2GTR, utilizes recycled tires ground up to a 30 mesh size particle (about the size of a small grain of sand) as the base material. The process uses an electro magnetic reactor and water to disintegrate the ground tire rubber into a nano-size devulcanized polymer composite made up of Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR), Styrene Butadiene Styrene (SBS), and other tire components.

The process allows the polymer to retain elastomeric and durability characteristics that are present in tires. Until now, these characteristics have not been able to be retained in other tire recycling or devulcanizing methods.

Over 50 billion pounds of virgin polymers are used per year worldwide, primarily in roads, roofing, car parts and new tires. The new recycled composite P2GTR may be cross linked to accommodate any of these industrial uses at a considerable cost savings.

Tests have revealed performance of the P2GTR composite to be better than that of the original manufactured polymer due to specialized crosslink technology used to alter and finalize characteristics of the polymer composite for specific uses.

Ronnie Blacklidge, president of Blacklidge Emulsions Inc. says the joint venture was a natural with Blacklidge Emulsions Inc., a leader in polymer modified asphalts and PRIME Plex, a company translating aerospace "trickle-down" technology into practical daily applications.

Manufacturers of asphalts such as Marathon, Citgo, Valero, and Calumet are enthused about the new polymer composite invention that will allow the use of the recycled elastomeric polymer to be used in roads and roofs which may lead to near perpetual roads and roofs, sooner than anticipated due to the endless supply of scrap tires in landfills, performance of the polymers, and economics of the process.

The first polymer blending facility will be placed in South Mississippi and is expected to asphalt react up to 80,000 pounds of polymer composite daily and is targeted to be online the first quarter of 2006. Other tentative polymer blending sites scheduled for 2006 are Tampa, FL, Corpus Christi, TX, and Greensboro, NC, where Blacklidge already has existing or planned plants that modify asphalt base products.

Broadcast News Corp. with Terry Bradshaw will feature the company later this year to further explain the P2GTR Polymer and two other BEI-Ecostar collaborative inventions, a PAH free asphalt seal coat for parking lots that last up to five times longer than conventional coal tar sealers and a trackless tack that eliminates the tracking of black asphalt liquid when asphalt paving is being applied.

Sakai Launches Software
SmartEquip System gives advanced dealer support
Sakai America Inc. has launched the SmartEquip's Parts & Service Manager to help their dealers with SmartEquip's web-based parts ordering and product support system.

Parts & Service Manager — powered by SmartEquip — provides a single platform for manufacturer service documentation and electronic commerce transactions, delivering continually updated product information to users, including intelligent parts diagrams, parts pricing, equipment diagnostics, service manuals and equipment specifications.

Parts & Service Manager contains a secure pipeline for streamlined order placement, providing real-time on-line parts availability and accurately transmitting the order data directly from the customer to Sakai's ordering system.

"The Parts & Service Manager application extends Sakai's ability to support their dealers and customers accurately and efficiently," says Alex Schuessler, SmartEquip's president and chief executive officer. "Users are presented with a single process for product support, parts selection and parts ordering. That ease-of-use provides tremendous time savings and accuracy improvements and is critical in streamlining the maintenance process and increasing equipment uptime."

New Leasing Options for Rheometers
Malvern Bohlin offers turnkey leasing packages
A series of comprehensive turnkey leasing packages now offers a range of options for users of Malvern Bohlin asphalt rheometers. Recognized as the industry standard for SHRP and AASHTO asphalt testing, these rheometers are in widespread use for binder assay. Malvern's leasing scheme allows full financing and flexible terms to suit every user's individual needs.

Three packages are available within the scheme: the DSR-II TruGrade Testing System for AASHTO and ASTM analysis; the CVO-100-ADS TruGrade Testing System; and the Gemini-ADS TruGrade Research Asphalt Characterization System. All come as complete turnkey systems, with on-site installation, operational training and full warranty included.

For more information, contact Malvern Instruments Inc. at [email protected].

 

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