“Elgin Sweeper is leading the charge in advancing the use of cleaner, safer, and healthier energy technologies in the sweeper industry,” said Brian Giles, sweeper products manager, Elgin Sweeper. “With the CNG-fueled Pelican sweeper, we are providing our municipal customers, like the District of Columbia, with an efficient, hard-working sweeper that significantly reduces costs and environmental emissions.”

“The vehicles we are putting into service symbolize our commitment to taking a Sustainable DC to the next level,” said D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray. “We have more than 1,400 alternative-fuel vehicles in our fleet, which is a 47 percent increase over 2010. By investing in heavy- and medium-duty vehicles that use alternative fuels, we will achieve a higher per-vehicle reduction in emissions.”

The District has been recognized in recent years for its leadership in the use of alternative-fuel vehicles and has ranked among the top 20 green fleets for pioneering the use of alternative-fuel vehicles.

“A fleet of alternative-fueled Pelicans can significantly reduce a city fleet’s greenhouse gas and nitrogen oxide emissions over their diesel equivalents, while reducing the consumption of crude oil-based diesel fuel,” Giles said. “The alternative-fueled Pelican is yet another example of Elgin Sweeper’s commitment to our customers in North America.”

In addition to being Elgin Sweeper’s flagship product, the Pelican has been America’s most popular urban street sweeper for generations. This three-wheel broom sweeper features outstanding maneuverability, visibility, a 10 ft. sweeping path and the heavy-duty No-Jam debris conveyor. The Pelican sweeper may also be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)—also known as propane.

The alternative-fueled, single-engine Pelican is powered by the ultra-low emissions Cummins B5.9-195G engine that is certified to U.S. EPA and CARB standards and Euro V and EEV. The engine offers low emissions without sacrificing performance and efficiency.

A clear, odorless and non-corrosive gas, CNG has become an ideal energy source for the future. LNG is an alternative fuel that is economical, abundant in supply and produces approximately 10 percent of the pollutants normally emitted by traditional gasoline or diesel engines. LPG, or propane, is a low-emission, economic and easily used fuel with a long and varied history in transportation applications since its inception as a motor vehicle fuel. Vehicles powered by CNG, LNG and LPG are used in a wide variety of commercial applications, including light-duty trucks and sedans, medium-duty trucks, and heavy-duty vehicles like sweepers, refuse haulers and transit buses.

With more than 90 years of experience, Elgin Sweeper offers municipalities, contractors and industries the most sweeper options in the country, using the latest sweeping technologies, including alternative fuel, mechanical, pure vacuum, regenerative air and waterless dust control. In addition to the alternative-fueled Pelican, Elgin Sweeper offers the CNG- and LPG-fueled Eagle® four-wheel mechanical sweeper, the CNG-fueled Broom Bear® mechanical sweeper and the CNG-fueled Crosswind® four-wheel regenerative air sweeper.

For more information on the alternative-fuel sweepers available from Elgin Sweeper, please contact your local Elgin Sweeper dealer, or visit www.elginsweeper.com to find a dealer near you.

Lanham, Md.—The National Asphalt Pavement Association and the Federal Highway Administration, with the support of local state asphalt pavement organizations, are holding the 21st Century Asphalt Pavements conference June 19 – 20, 2012, at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Today’s paving market places an emphasis on pavement preservation and sustainability. The asphalt industry has solutions for each and every preservation project, from improving the surface of pavements with thin overlays to meeting new requirements to handle storm water through porous pavements.
The 21st Century Asphalt Pavements Conference brings together a day and a half of case studies, roundtables, and research into pavement preservation and sustainable pavements. Designed for paving professionals in the public and private sectors, the conference will benefit construction managers, project superintendents, inspectors, QC/QA technicians/managers, and others involved in the design, construction and maintenance processes. The technical conference will provide participants with tools, best practices and innovations they need to build the pavements people will be driving on for the next century.

Conference participants will learn about the latest innovations in thin asphalt overlays for pavement preservation and how asphalt pavements fit with new requirements for sustainability. Environmentally responsible practices such as warm-mix asphalt, reclaimed asphalt, recycled asphalt shingles and crumb rubber modifiers will be discussed with a focus on using these practices in combination for maximum impact. Finally, as state DOTs look to get the best pavement available for their limited dollars, the conference will discuss Perpetual Pavements, which are the longest lasting and most sustainable pavements in the world.

Registration for the 21st Century Asphalt Pavements Conference is now open. Early bird pricing of $300 is in effect through May 11, 2012. After that date the registration fee rises to $325. Visit www.asphaltpavement.org/21stcentury for more information, to view the conference agenda and to register.

Limited sponsorship and table-top exhibit opportunities are still available. Contact Nancy Lawler or Sandy Lucchesi at (888) 468-6499 for more information.

About The National Asphalt Pavement Association

The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) is the only trade association that exclusively represents the interests of the asphalt producer/contractor on the national level with Congress, government agencies, and other national trade and business organizations. NAPA supports an active research program designed to improve the quality of asphalt pavements and paving techniques used in the construction of roads, streets, highways, parking lots, airports, and environmental and recreational facilities. The association provides technical, educational, and marketing materials and information to its members; supplies product information to users and specifiers of paving materials; and conducts training courses. The association, which counts more than 1,100 companies as members, was founded in 1955.

Balancing these things can be difficult. “While we are promoting and protecting public health, we take into account the economic impact it will have whenever we pass new regulations,” says Beth White, manager of the on-road compliance section at the California Air Resource Board. “We look at the emissions impact and try to figure out the most economically feasible path.”

According to CARB’s website, “in 1998, California identified diesel exhaust particulate matter (PM) as a toxic air contaminant based on its potential to cause cancer, premature death, and other health problems. Diesel engines also contribute to California’s fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air quality problems. Those most vulnerable are children whose lungs are still developing and the elderly who may have other serious health problems. Based on year 2006-2008 emissions in California, diesel PM contributes each year to approximately 2,000 premature deaths, with an uncertainty range of 1,500 to 2,400. In addition, diesel soot causes visibility reduction and is a potent global warmer.”

The EPA quotes numerous scientific studies linking particle pollution to increased respiratory symptoms, such as irritation of the airways, coughing, difficulty breathing, decreased lung function, aggravated asthma, development of chronic bronchitis, irregular heartbeat, nonfatal heart attacks and premature death in people with heart or lung disease.

In 2008, CARB passed tougher truck and bus regulations aimed at cutting emissions from diesel engines. “It effects all trucks and buses 14,000 pounds or 26,000 gvwr and heavier,” says White. So, that means sweeper trucks.

CARB did this to meet federal attainment regulations on air quality. “We are not in attainment and haven’t been for several years,” says White. “We have used all of our extensions and now we have to meet those federal requirements or risk losing federal highway funds.”

While California has a legal obligation to meet these requirements, it’s also concerned about the health of its citizens. “Seventy percent of air quality cancer risk comes from diesel particulates,” says White. “Anyone living in California will benefit from cleaner air. Our mission is to provide a healthier living environment that we can pass to our children.”

If you don’t live in California, you may be asking yourself, “What’s this got to do with me?” According to NAPSA, several states are considering similar regulations, such as New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Maryland and Florida among others.

There are complicated compliance methods that include a phased-in approach, downsizing and credits. But, basically, if your fleet is producing X amount of emissions, then your fleet will need to come into compliance to produce only Y amount of emissions.

This could mean, depending on the model year and weight of your sweeper fleet, that if you have 20 trucks, then six of them would need to be brought into compliance with the phased-in approach.

With the phased-in approach, you will need to bring a certain percentage of specifically dated engines into compliance by certain years. “For example, if 75 percent of your fleet is 1999 or older, you will want to use the phased-in approach to come into compliance,” says White. “This will enable you to retrofit 30 percent of those with a filter and give you credits.”

There are also different calculations for low-use vehicles (less than 1,000 miles per year), small fleets and certain areas of California. There are also other things that you can do. “For example, if you were to put filters on your entire fleet by 2014, then you wouldn’t have any replacement requirements until 2020.”
CARB also offers credits for installing retrofits early, downsizing your fleet, replacing older models with 2007 or newer engines and hybrids.

If you choose to retrofit your truck, then you will be installing, or paying someone else to install, a filter, which can range $13,000 to $20,000 depending on the size of your engine. Wells Sweeping began retrofitting their sweepers in response to the regulations and have branched out to provide the service for others. “I’ve seen a lot of installs and you don’t want to just throw a filter on there,” says Jay Wells, owner of Wells Sweeping. “We’ve tried and tested different filters and the ones that we install on other sweepers are the ones that we use on our trucks. We know they work.”

Wells says that installing a filter can be very tricky. “These filters are much harder to install on a sweeper than a regular truck,” says Wells. “A sweeper is a very compact piece of equipment—there are a lot of safety issues.”

CARB has a handy calculator on its site to help you figure out which trucks fall under what regulations. From their homepage, click on the big yellow tab labelled “The Truck Stop” to find all kinds of handy information about compliance and reporting. The calculator is under “Which Regs Apply to Me?”

With Wells’ fleet, he says that he has had to stop taking money from his business to be able to afford compliance. “If I didn’t have a son who wants to take over the business, I would’ve sold out,” says Wells, whose son just had a baby girl. “I want to be able to pass my family business to him so I have an incentive to see this through. But, it’s a lot for a business owner to go through.”

Wells even looked at relocating to another state. “By the time you take into account selling your house and your business property at a loss, finding new customers and buying new properties, it costs about the same as staying and complying.”

The California chapter of NAPSA came together to share their concerns with CARB and hired a CPA to perform an audit of several sweeper companies. The accountant found that all but the largest sweeper companies will be forced out of business within three years.

Penalties can be severe—up to $10,000 per day for noncompliance. “We want to work with small business owners,” says White. “Reporting is key. If you are making a good faith effort, we can work with you. Don’t not report or fail to comply because you feel that you can’t.”

CARB also offers a variety of funding to help small business owners come into compliance. There is a funding button that allows you to put in specific information about your fleet to see if you qualify for any of the grants, loans, loan guarantees, vouchers or rebates available.

“We have a variety of programs to help ease the transition,” says White. “There is the 1B money program, the Carl Moyer voucher program, A118 and a loan guarantee program. It may be awhile before someone can get approved for 1B because there are so many people already in the program. We do have a certain amount of oversubscription. But, the Carl Moyer program is great because we give the small business owner funding up to $45,000 for retrofits. You apply through your local air district. They have five days to get back to you and if you are approved, your money follows shortly thereafter.”

CARB will also serve as a loan guarantor, which means that it guarantees your loan to the bank. “This is a great option for small business owners who’s credit is just on the line, or who’s bank has told them, ‘Well, you still owe us for the sweeper’ or asks, ‘What’s a retrofit?’” says White. “This program is aimed at small businesses with 40 or fewer trucks, 100 or fewer employees and with annual revenues under $100 million.”

“If you are having trouble complying then I would suggest applying for the various funding options that are available,” says White.

“I’ve applied several times and have been turned down because there wasn’t enough money left,” says Wells. “The grants are gone. The people who knew that this was coming in 2005, got in and got it. As far as I know, there hasn’t been a single sweeper funded in the Sacramento area.”

“I foresee a lot these guys getting out of the sweeper business,” adds Wells. “I’ve heard several of them say that they are going to run their trucks until they’re out of compliance and retire. I even had a guy call me about a month ago asking if I wanted to buy his business.”

White says, “we have several opportunities in place to work with those guys who are planning on retiring. There are ways to delay compliance or relax it, especially if you are looking to retire in the next couple of years.”

CARB sounds like it wants to work with small business owners so that they don’t go out of business. White agrees that sweeping has an environmental benefit, “the less dust that we are stirring up, the better. The bulk of our legislation is particulate matter and any removal of particulate matter would be a benefit.”

In practice, at least according to Wells, it seems like there will inevitably be fewer, maybe a lot fewer, sweeping companies in California once all of the regulations are in place. Only time will tell.

Either way, by 2023, when all of the fleets will need to be in compliance, California should have more breathable air.

For more information on CARB, visit www.arb.ca.gov

For more information on the NAPSA-sponsored webinar On-Road and Bus Regulations, Don’t Get Kicked to the Curb, visit www.powersweeping.org

Story by Jennifer Taylor

Marketing

“Keeping in contact with our magazine clients and readers is vital and even though email is still effective, many are using social media more and more to read what is happening in real time,” says Mike Macrone, advertising rep for North American Sweeper Magazine. “That is why Twitter and Facebook are so important to our business and since I’m always on the go, using both on my Blackberry is the best way to stay in touch.”

“Both apps were pre-installed on my Blackberry and easy to setup (just remember you need to have existing accounts with Facebook and Twitter before everything is setup).”

“Similar to email on a Blackberry, both apps are deeply integrated into the phone, which means whenever I receive a “Reply” in Twitter or someone likes one of our posts on Facebook, I receive an instant alert notifying me. This is a major positive and helps to keep me up on what is going on.”

Twitter—(free) iPhone/iPad, Android, Blackberry—Twitter makes it easy to stay up-to-date with your followers and Tweet updates that even include a photo. You have almost complete access to Twitter on your phone, meaning you can see what is trending and even search in real-time.
Review from Mike Macrone, Advertising, North American Sweeper.

Facebook—(free) iPhone/iPad, Android, Blackberry—While Facebook does the same as Twitter, I do have one major issue with the Facebook app, which is, I can only use the app through my account and not my business ‘Page.’ This is a major stumbling block, as I want to cultivate and keep in contact with followers/friends on my business activity. Now, there is talk that Facebook is working on improving their mobile apps in the near future, so I’m looking forward to seeing things improve for more business activity.
Review from Mike Macrone, Advertising, North American Sweeper.

LinkedIn—(free) iPhone/iPad, Andriod, Blackberry—Allows you to view your entire network as well as send and receive updates. Ranked as one of PC Magazine’s Top 10 business apps.

Finance

MSP Cost Analysis Calculator—($.99) iPhone/iPad—You can show your client their true cost of fixing something versus replacing it.

Bills Monitor—(free) iPhone—Log your bills in this app, you can track or check them, it will remind you to pay your bill after setting its reminding days. This has been billed as a top app.

Mint.com Personal Finance Tool—(free) iPhone, Android—Great reviews by Lifehacker, App Store Rewind, PC Magazine Editor’s Choice, Kiplinger’s Must-Have Money Apps. Allows you to track, budget and manage your money in one place, so you can see where you’re spending and where you can save. Open an account, add your bank, credit, loan and retirement accounts, and Mint will automatically pull in and categorize transactions. It’s safe, secure and easy to keep your finances organized.

DataMan—(free) iPhone/iPad—Track your data usage in real time and works with different carriers. Pro version gives you real-time background alerts and can alert you the moment you exceed your usage threshold. According to my account with AT&T, I used more data in a single month than DataMan said I did. I’m not sure which is correct, but I’m guessing that the data that AT&T says I used is the one that counts with them.
Review by Jennifer Taylor.

expensify.com/mobile—(free) iPhone, iPad, Android, WebOS, BlackBerry—Log mileage, file expense reports, and upload a limited number of receipts using your phone’s camera (a smart scanning system automatically extracts information like the date and the amount charged).

Abukai—($39 and up after free 30-day trail)—iPhone, Blackberry and Android—Expense reports are filed in three easy steps: take a picture of your receipt from a smartphone, submit it, and receive your finished expense report. Editor’s Choice winning app.

Document Management

LogMeIn—(free) iPhone/iPad—Access all of your computers over WiFi or 3G.

IDocuments Organizer—(free) iPhone/iPad—Allows you to manage documents, photos and information.

PocketCloud—($.99) Andriod 2.1 or higher—Allows users to create a personal cloud by providing a unified view of all your remote computers from a mobile device. It also provides for unlimited video, phone and audio transfers, opening remote files and creating or deleting folders and files.

Quickoffice Mobile Office Suite—($12.99 – on sale) iPhone—Allows you to view and edit MS Office documents.

Air Sharing—($9.99) iPhone/iPad—Allows you to use your iPhone/iPad as an external drive. You can “mount” remote file servers including Google Docs and others.

Project Management

Encamp—($9.99) iPhone—Gives you access to Basecamp’s features (project management tool) such as projects, messages, to-do lists and milestones. You can see an overview as well as your active and archived projects. You can also view files attached to your Basecamp projects.

Security

Pocket—(free) Andriod—Securely stores sensitive information such as bank information, passwords, prescriptions, locker combinations, etc. The information is only accessible via a master password that cannot be accessed locally.

CPI Security Intouch—(free app, but security packages vary) iPhone/iPad, Android, Blackberry—Allows you to arm and disarm your burglar alarm; receive email and text notifications when someone enters or leaves the room; control energy sources; monitor who is going in and out of the house; and more. If you set it up with their inTouch Video system, you can see who is going in and out of your home, office or warehouse.

News

News apps—(most are free) iPhone/iPad, Android, Blackberry—Most major newspapers and media outlets have a mobile version that will keep you up-to-date on breaking news.

If you didn’t see an app you like, then I have a website that you might want to check out. BestVendor.com is a free website that allows you to see the preferred apps and technology of your peers and other businesses. You do need a LinkedIn account to sign in and you need to share three of your favorite work apps.

Let us know if you found an app that has saved you time or money, jennifer@nasweeper.com.

Story by Jennifer Taylor

NAPSA is pleased to share that through the Association’s affinity program, members can band together to create buying power.

The more fuel purchased through the program, the greater the rebate is to members. Simply complete the application to open your company’s individual account then start receiving the benefit. Rebate checks are issued individually to members each month! Additional information and application are found at the following links:

Program Information:
http://www.advmgtconcepts.com/clientdocs/napsa/EOMAllPackageCOLOR7-15-11.pdf

Program Application:
http://www.advmgtconcepts.com/clientdocs/napsa/ExxonMobilOutsideSalesFleetApp7-15-11.pdf

As always, feel free to contact NAPSA at (888) 757-0130 or by email at info@powersweeping.org with any additional questions.

Story by NAPSA

Richard Katz, his brother Daniel and cousin Brett started in real estate management in the north Chicago area. “We were having trouble with the guys maintaining our properties, so we decided to do it ourselves,” says Rich. So, they bought a sweeper truck and hired an experienced sweeper. That was almost five years ago.

Now, they’ve grown to 100 accounts with 11 sweepers. “Being in real estate has helped, but it has mostly been through word of mouth,” says Rich. “Almost all of our growth has been organic. We work with large real estate firms and construction companies—anyone that has a street or parking lot. We also work with industrial companies that need rock cleaned up. And, of course, we sweep the properties that we manage which include large apartment complexes and shopping centers. Basically, anyone who has something to sweep, we are happy to sweep it.”

Rich and his director of operations, Kyle Bergeron, run the sweeper company while Brett runs the real estate side and Daniel oversees the accounting and financial aspects of the group.

TKG recently acquired another sweeper company from a gentleman who was ready to retire, adding equipment, customers and service area while removing a competitor. “We had a friendly competition going and he was ready to retire,” says Rich. “We added a Johnston to our current fleet with the purchase. We’ve got a couple of Schwarze 348, a Schwarze 347, a Schwarze A4000, a Schwarze M5000, a Nite-Hawk 400dx, a Victory Mark II, two Tymco 210, a Tymco 435 and a Tymco 600. We really like the Schwarze 348. The Victory and Schwarze are a little stronger.”

Buying the other company also allowed them to obtain monthly sweeping contracts and construction customers.

Rich says that 80 percent of their business has been through word of mouth. “We provide great customer service and we maintain our vehicles,” says Rich. “Our goal is to exceed expectations every time. And, it may seem trivial, but if you call us, we will call you back. That doesn’t always happen. We want our vehicles to look clean and to allow people to see that they are well kept. We have a full-time mechanic on site. Our employees are well trained and do the same quality job each time. We aren’t the cheapest company out there, but we aren’t the most expensive either. We also have the advantage of being big enough to have back up trucks. So, if a truck breaks down, the property still gets cleaned, we just send out another truck, which makes the customer happy.”

Rich says that they treat their sweeper business as a business. “When the real estate market took a dive, it was great that we had the sweeper business as well. We want to be in business a long time, so we are looking at growing our business and making sure our customers are happy.”

And their customers are apparently happy. In their first three years of business, they grew by 150 percent, 250 percent and then 48 percent, respectively. “By our third year, we began to level out. In just four years, we’ve become the largest sweeping company in the southeast corridor of Wisconsin.”

As with any business, the importance of maintaing quality while growing can be tricky. “We follow up with customers through email and phone to make sure they are happy with our service,” says Rich. “We check on the properties that we sweep regularly and we have GPS in our trucks so we can watch what the guys are doing.”

TKG joined 1-800-Sweeper last November. Since then, their business has grown even more. “We get a lot of calls, probably 3 to 4 per week,” says Rich. “So far, we’ve been able to convert about 90 percent of those one time needs into regular clients. In the past couple of months, we’ve probably added 10 clients as a result of 1-800-Sweeper. We won’t be the biggest company in the world, but through making smart business decisions and maintaining quality, we hope to grow a bit more.”

In addition to new customers, TKG is finding that the savings with 1-800-Sweeper is great. “On brooms alone, we are saving 30 percent with United Rotary,” says Rich.

Rich likes that their company not only provides a service that is aesthetically pleasing, but also helps keep our water and air clean by removing debris from surfaces. “Sweeping is an important service,” says Rich. “It removes harmful chemicals before they run off and get into the water system. It’s cheaper to get pollutants before they enter the water supply than to remove them.”

“As regulations get tighter on water and air, I think that sweeping will play a bigger role,” says Rich. “Right now, we have cut throat guys that will bid up to 30 percent less than we do, but my pricing is based on doing quality work. The people that don’t maintain their vehicles will probably disappear as well.”

It just goes to show you that sometimes, if you take a chance, things pay off. “When we bought our first truck, we didn’t know if there was business out there or not,” says Rich. “We just knew that we could do a better job than what we were getting. From there, we’ve been able to grow our company through good customer service, word of mouth, and our great trucks, which are like moving billboards.”

Diversification can be a scary endeavor, but when approached in a thoughtful, deliberate manner, it can turn into big business as it has for TKG.

Resources
For more information:
■ The Katz Group (TKG), please visit www.tkgsweeping.com
■ Schwarze, please visit www.schwarze.com
■ Nite-Hawk, please visit www.nitehawksweepers.com
■ Tymco, please visit www.tymco.com
■ Victory, please visit www.victorysweepers.com

Story by Jennifer Taylor

“I used to have a sweeping business in Wisconsin,” says Mark McLeod, vice president of Maintenance Inc. “A typical blacktop life cycle is 20 years. You can double the service life of asphalt by sealing it.”

What To Look For In A Sealcoat

A good sealcoat should last two to five years whether it’s coal tar or asphalt based. When you are shopping around, you want to look for something that will hold up. “There are three big things that wear down a sealcoat,” says George Eales, marketing and technical director of PAVEGUARD products. “The ultraviolet rays from the sun deteriorates the sealcoat. Mechanical wear and tear is caused by traffic. But, the biggest enemy is water—it does a lot of damage. The best sealcoat is one that will mitigate all three failure mechanisms.”

“You can expect high traffic areas like Walmart and McDonald’s to wear faster, but it should still last two years,” says Gordon Rayner, California Pavement Maintenance.

What works in Florida may not work in Kansas so make sure that what you buy is good for your area. “We have heard from engineers that have taken sealcoats that are considered top-notch in California that won’t dry and cure in other parts of the nation,” says Eales.

If you are in Texas, Oklahoma or anywhere along the I-35 corridor where there is a lot of limestone, you will need a different type of product or additive. “If you can see white stone sticking up out of pavement in a parking lot, it means that the hot asphalt didn’t stick to that stone,” says Rayner. “If you can’t get hot asphalt to stick to it then you will have a hard time getting an asphalt sealcoat to stick to it unless you use additives. You’ll need to find one to match that type of aggregate that you are dealing with. You may find that it may take a little or a lot, but you can do test sections such as 10×10 to see how much additive you need. Or, you can use coal tar.”

“However, the advances that are being made with asphalt right now are making it a much better product than what people are used to seeing,” says Rayner.

Tracking can be another problem. “Depending on what sealcoat brand you use, some track more than others,” says Eales. “As cars drive on them, it can cover up the striping and cause problems for sweepers.”

Another concern is irrigation. “Water can puddle in the parking lot and sealants can seep into the water turning it black,” adds Eales. “You want to watch for those sealants that track and make sure that the water stays as clean as possible.”

Most companies perform a test on their sealcoats but don’t publish the results. Instead of doing the trial and error methods yourself by waiting two to five years to see how the sealcoats hold up, you can ask the manufacturers if they will supply the test results to you. “These wet tack abrasion tests allow manufacturers to see how well their sealcoat will do without waiting years,” says Eales. “You’ll want to see how the sealcoats hold up under all three problem areas: sun, weather and mechanical.”

“All sealcoats provide a roof for the pavement—it just depends on how long it will last,” says Doug Ford, president of Pavement Coatings Inc.

Products On The Market

There are a number of coal tar and asphalt based sealants. SealMaster and Pitch Black are big names in the industry, but there are others as well.

“Both coal tar and asphalt based sealants have their place,” says McLeod. “Asphalt based sealants have come a long way—they are tougher, harder and have some better film formation. I have additives for both coal tar and asphalt based sealers.

Ford and Eales manufacture a product based on a formula that Lockheed designed. “It’s iron clad and has polymers that make it fuel resistant and gas resistant. We have stair step products that go all the way up to preventing oil spots from forming. The Lockheed formula helps all three of the problem areas that wear down asphalt.”

Ford and Eales sell a family of products at PAVEGUARD—CC, IG and CG. PAVEGUARD CC stands for cold cure because it allows you to apply it in the cold or at night and it will still cure. PAVEGUARD IG is their industrial grade product that has “every bell and whistle.” “It’s our better product,” says Ford. “It’s where you get the most bang for your buck on a long-term basis. It will outlast everything else.” PAVEGUARD CG is the commercial grade. “It’s the younger brother to industrial,” says Ford. “It isn’t quite as tough and fuel resistant. It’s a great product for a contractor on a competitive bid that needs a competitive price.”

The two are excited about their new products. “It’s a different family—it can be enhanced so that you can spill jet fuel and it will wash off. It does a superior job. Lockheed began to treat asphalt to make it fuel resistant.”

“The geographic area will have a sealcoat to address whatever weather circumstances they are dealing with,” says Eales. “One of the benefits of coal tar is that it is very effective in high humidity climates and other emulsion-based products have a hard time curing in high humidity.”

McLeod says that is where additives come in. “Everybody thinks they should only use them during the spring and fall or in other conditions when they need a fast drying additive,” says McLeod. “Additives are sealer film enhancers that fortify all types of sealers.”

“A sealer is a sealer,” says McLeod. “It’s the additive that makes a difference. “When a contractor wakes up, they need to ask: What do I want my sealer to do today? Do I want it to dry fast? Encapsulate sand? Is the ambient temperature the optimal 50 degrees or higher? Am I applying it in extremely hot weather? Additives help with all of those things as well as cures the sealer film faster reducing down time and scuffing of the sealer film.”

“We have multi-dimensional additives and we fortify all types of sealers,” adds McLeod. “We have a patented additive called FASS-DRI. Through nano cure technology it cures from the bottom up. Our additives improve oil and gas resistance, reduces tracking and improves sand dispersion and curing
time by 50 percent.”

Application Methods

PAVEGUARD recommends to apply the first coat with a squeegee to level out any divots and to spray the second coat. “Some buy it and spray two coats while others squeegee two coats and they seem to like it just fine too,” says Ford. “For dual applications, the squeegee coat allows you to fill areas and the spray coat will mirror the first.”

“When you squeegee, you get more consistent run off with water,” adds Eales. “It also helps to sheet off the water and repair divots.”

“Some of the older methods use a broom and it does kind of a nice job,” adds Ford. “I don’t see much of it anymore, but it leaves a nice texture. It’s comparable to squeegeeing and fills divots. However, it does leave a thicker layer on the surface so it uses more product. With a squeegee, you can be an artist and can cut in and paint. With the broom, the job goes quicker, but it’s a dying art.”

As you can see, there are a lot of different products and methods out there. Talking to others that apply sealcoats in your area can help you to narrow down products when testing new ones. Rayner suggests that if you don’t find a product that you like on the market, then you can buy different additives to mix in and make your own. Then you can test them to see what works best. But, he warns, “that while a sealcoat product may cost $2 per bucket, additives can run you $15. The good thing is that a little bit of additive can go a long way.”

Resources
For more information:
■ PAVEGUARD, call George Eales at 951-675-8153, or email geales@paveguard.net to order
■ Maintenance Inc., please visit www.maintinc.com
■ SealMaster, please visit www.sealmaster.net
■ Pitch Black, please visit www.ussealinc.com

Story by Jennifer Taylor

Click Here to Check Out the May Issue!

Click Here to Check Out the April Issue!

The show had more than 350 exhibitors that featured new products and services in asphalt production and recycling equipment, road building machinery, pavement maintenance equipment, soil stabilizers, information technology, chemical and petroleum products, pollution control, testing equipment, work zone safety and traffic management, and trucks and trailers.

The show’s education program featured nearly 100 sessions by leading industry organizations like Asphalt Pavement Alliance (APA), People, Plants and Paving Training Program, and AGG1 Academy covering the latest issues and trends, best practices, business management, drilling, community relations, government affairs and advocacy, and roundtables.

Story by Jennifer Taylor