As temperatures drop, the number of asphalt plants open for business is dropping as well.  It’s that time of the year when most plants go into shutdown mode, performing maintenance and keeping costs low while conditions are less than ideal for asphalt paving.  Lately, it seems like more and more plants are able to stay open and crews able to pave deeper and deeper into the season.  The reason behind this is directly linked to the rise in popularity of Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA).  For those who aren’t yet familiar with it, WMA is produced and laid at significantly lower temperatures than traditional Hot Mix Asphalt.

There are several advantages to producing and paving with Warm Mix Asphalt, including:

• Using a lower plant temperature, there are increased savings in fuel consumption & operating costs, while reducing emissions into the atmosphere
• WMA can be laid at a lower compaction temperature, providing a larger window for crews to pave.  As a result, Warm Mix Asphalt can also be hauled to jobsites that are further away.  This can allow for companies to bid and take on work that was previously thought to be too far away from the plant.
• Better workability in lower temperatures means that the amount of wasted (non-pliable) asphalt that typically occurs when temperatures drop is reduced

Successful QualiTherm WMA job in Oxford County, Ontario, Canada

It’s hard to believe that 2011 has already passed, and thus we’ve made it successfully through our first full calendar year of ShopWorx. I wanted to take some time to reflect on 2011 and what we’ve learned, and look forward to exciting things in 2012! We have learned so much from our customers about what they need every day to get the job done. I hope we have made your job easier with something we’ve provided from our supply line, and if not I hope you will let us know how we can help this year.

ShopWorx customers are popping up all over the nation as the word spreads about us. We are now an exclusive provider of Portable Changeable Message Boards to the State of Maryland, and they have been raving about our message boards in every state agency across the state. Our QualiTherm additive for Warm Mix Asphalt production has been used with great success by asphalt producers in the Midwest and the Southeast. Numerous contractors from Connecticut to California are using our PPE gear and work tools. At the end of the year we also became exclusive supplier of traffic cones to the State of North Carolina. And, we’re just getting started….

I expect great things for ShopWorx and our customers in 2012. There are signs that the economy is turning around, and infrastructure projects on hold are sure to pick back up. As your business begins to grow again, we hope you will give us the chance to grow with you. For now, I leave you with a quote from Ray LaHood, U.S. Secretary of Transportation since 2009:

“It’s been proven time after time: investments in our national infrastructure create jobs and opportunities. Americans can and must build great things – not just in spite of enormous economic challenges but also as the means of overcoming them.”

Let’s build great things together in 2012!

Towner