GuardTop to produce asphalt sealer in Atlanta area
GuardTop, LLC, a division of Tucson-based Western Emulsions Inc., has acquired a regional asphalt sealcoat manufacturing facility from a former licensee, Blacklidge Emulsions, Inc. and will now produce its GuardTop products in the Atlanta area.
According to Jeff Luzar, division manager of GuardTop, the acquisition will enable GuardTop to market its products directly to contractors in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
“The acquisition of the Rockmart, GA, facility marks an important phase in the expansion of the GuardTop brand,” Luzar said. “The market is hungry for an alternative to coal tar based products. GuardTop provides that alternative with its high durability and longevity. GuardTop will satisfy this niche in the asphalt sealcoat market.”
Luzar said that in addition to its traditional premium asphalt coating, GuardTop has introduced CoolSeal, a reflective sealcoat product that absorbs less heat from the sun resulting in cooler surface temperatures where the product is applied.
Joseph DiBenedetto, an industry veteran with experience with a number of asphalt technology companies in the southeastern United States, manages the Rockmart plant.
The plant is located at 480 S Marble St., Rockmart, GA 30153; phone (401) 258-9968.
SealMaster, Jet-Black among top construction franchises
SealMaster, Sandusky, OH, and Jet-Black Franchise Group, Savage, MN, were named to the list of top 10 building and construction franchises for the month of January by The independent authority on franchises, franchiserankings.com, the independent authority on franchises.
Included in the listings are franchises that focus on building and constructing in addition to products and/or services relevant to those offering construction-related services. The rankings are updated on a monthly basis to account for new developments.
Jet-Black, which also operates the Black Dawg Sealcoat, Blue-Dawg Power Wash and Yellow Dawg Striping franchises was named the number 5 franchise for January. SealMaster was named number 10 for the month.
In order to determine which franchises to feature in the rankings the independent research team uses a proprietary evaluation process. This process features the use of a set of evaluation criteria consisting of five areas of evaluation found to most commonly affect the performance of a franchise in the long term. These five areas of evaluation include marketing support, training, ongoing support, value, and growth prospect.