Winter Asphalt Repair

Repairing asphalt can be a tricky business now that old man winter has reared his head. Instead of waiting for warmer temps to repair cracks, pot holes and other asphalt problems which can cause safety issues for your clients, you might want to consider infrared recyclers.

“Diversification is important in any business model but it is particularly important in seasonal businesses such as sweeping and/or pavement maintenance and repair,” says Michael Blake, marketing manager at KM International. “Infrared repair is a choice option for contractors because it offers the opportunity to perform a seamless, long-lasting repair year round.”

“Another big plus of infrared asphalt repair is the ability to work through snow and cold weather, while conventional repair cannot,” says
Thomas Allen, general manager for KASI Infrared Corp.

Cutting costs
Infrared allows a contractor to save money through reduced labor costs and recycling the existing asphalt which is also an environmentally-friendly solution.

“While conventional repair requires the labor and equipment intensive removal of old asphalt from a damaged site and its replacement with new asphalt, the infrared technique expedites repair by heating, fusing and compacting recycled asphalt with minimal equipment, labor and new material,” says Allen. “The infrared technique can provide superior public, commercial, or residential asphalt repairs (such as roads, parking lots and driveways) at one-third the cost of conventional methods.

“To do the same 5×7’ cut-and-remove asphalt repair would typically take about five or six laborers several hours of work using a pavement saw to cut a straight edge around the damaged area, a jack hammer to break up the existing pavement, a bucket loader to excavate material, two trucks (one to remove excavated material and one to bring fresh asphalt) and a roller to compact the repair. It would also require enough new asphalt to replace all the excavated material.”

Standing up to mother nature
“Unlike traditional ‘saw, cut and remove’ or ‘crack filler’ asphalt repair techniques, KASI’s infrared asphalt repair has no seams for water and ice to penetrate,” says Allen. “Instead, its infrared restorations fuse to the existing pavement, creating a continuous surface. This eliminates the need for tack-coating the edges, enhances durability and allows roads and parking lots to be opened to traffic immediately.”

Top Sellers
“In the pavement maintenance and repair market, KM International top sellers include infrared recyclers, hotbox reclaimers, and crack preparation and maintenance equipment,” says Blake. “The hotbox reclaimer and infrared go hand in hand because even though the infrared process allows the user the ability to reuse about 60 percent of the existing asphalt, you will still need to add hot asphalt from a hotbox in order to bring the repair up to grade. Our crack preparation and maintenance equipment is an introduction into the pavement maintenance and repair market, and are great units for testing the water in the pavement maintenance industry.

“An infrared machine paired with the hotbox reclaimer is just what any contractor needs in order to diversify their business and have the ability to offer a reliable, long-lasting repair no matter what time of year.

“If you can only afford an infrared or hotbox reclaimer, then we recommend the hotbox reclaimer first because no matter the goal you must have hot useable asphalt at your fingertips, and that is what a hotbox reclaimer will provide.

“The best part of a sweeper contractor diversifying into the pavement maintenance industry is that you already have the contacts and business for sweeping and adding an additional service will allow you to expand your base business and create an additional revenue stream.”

If you already diversified into asphalt maintenance, then infrared repair may be a great addition to allow your guys to work more during the cold season.

Story by Jennifer Taylor

For more information, visit:
KASI Infrared Corp., www.kasinfrared.com
KM International, www.kminternational.com