A quick note on last week’s blog post: Across the country, pavement and infrastructure is melting in these extreme summer temperatures the country is experiencing! Just a couple days after our ‘Paving through the Dog Days of Summer’ post, this article, via MSN, circulated throughout our company email distribution.  It’s amazing to hear how infrastructure in this country is being affected by recent weather.  I thought I would share it with the hopes that it’s cooling off wherever you’re working this week! 

“Melting Asphalt, Kinking Rail Tracks: Weather Extremes Buckle U.S. Infrastructure”

We talked about it last week, and its still here.  The heat just won’t go away.  We know you feel it, and we want to know how you beat it.

QPR ShopWorx reps are still trucking across the country to get the word out about our great products, but back at HQ the heat has us too tired to pitch you any products this week!  That’s why we want to hear from you about how your work is going this summer!  Whether you are working to keep the asphalt plant running all summer, applying sealer to 150 degree pavement, or you take care of over-stressed and over-heated underground utility lines, we want to hear from YOU!  How are you staying cool this summer, and how is your work holding up?  Every day we hear contractors telling us they are getting busier and putting more people to work.  Are you getting busier?  Do you see your workload increasing?  Drop us a line and let us know!  Feel free to leave your responses in the comments section of the blog, or email them to support@qpr.cc.  Include your name and address, and we’ll send you out a free QPR ShopWorx hat and t-shirt!

We appreciate your feedback!  Have a great rest of the week.

As Summer is upon us, it is the perfect time to make sure you have the PPE you need for all your upcoming projects, especially by taking advantage of our PPE promotion.  PPE stands for Personal Protective Equipment which is clothing, head gear, face protection or other gear that is worn to keep you safe in certain work environments.  Although managers ultimately decide what PPE is required for the job and job site, it is important to comply with stated OSHA-Occupational Health and Safety Association, ANSI-American National Standards Institute, and ISEA-International Safety Equipment Association regulations.  These are legal requirements set for your protection.

The Federal Highway Administration is the final authority for safety vest standards and this federal organization works closely with ASNI/ISEA in the designing of these vests.  Highway workers are required to wear ANSI Class 2 and/or Class 3 safety vests.  These classes of vests differ in design, allowing for greater visibility when it is necessary.  Right-of-way workers, flaggers, and adult crossing guards must meet ANSI/ISEA 107 and public workers such as law enforcement, firefighters, and other emergency responders must meet ANSI/ISEA 207.  QPR ShopWorx has safety gear that meets these standards.

Personal Protective Equipment will protect from many different risks on the job site, including falling objects, toxic chemicals, heat/fire, loud noise and many more.  QPR ShopWorx offers many different products in each of these categories, insuring that you will always have what you need to stay safe.

QPR ShopWorx even has a “Free Cooler Promotion”, where you can get a commercial grade cooler of free with your next purchase of $150 of PPE.

Visit www.QPRShopWorx.com today!

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