InfraStructures - February 2007

Transitions

Gini and Dan McKain, on assignment for Calder Brothers Corporation
Special Collaboration

"The backbone of our asphalt paving operation is our new Mauldin 1550-C hot mix laydown machine. But, having said that, I must admit that it takes a combination of all our equipment and men to put it all together to produce one of the finest asphalt mats possible," said Charles Augello, president of Wilson Paving Ltd.

"Our new Mauldin paver, which is replacing our older C-300 Allat Paver, has helped us to transition from a small asphalt driveway paving firm into a much more productive company. At the same time, it's helping to reduce the amount of handwork that was previously required by our rakers and labourers. That is important to us, since we are a close knit family oriented operation."

"The company was founded in Ontario, Canada in 1989. We are headquartered in Vaughan and have a branch office in Ottawa. We try to maintain a work area within a 30 km area but, occasionally, this extends out to 200 km for some of our really long time customers. My son, Tony Augello, is second in command with Tony Imbrogno as a member of the Board of Directors."

"It should be noted that we are all out on the jobs six days a week, usually from about 7 in the morning until sometimes as late as 8 or 10 every night except Sunday, we do not work on Sunday. Our asphalt paving season generally begins by the beginning of May when the local hot mix asphalt plants begin operation. We, then, go right through to the end of November or into December whenever they close down for the winter."

"We own and maintain our own tri-axle dump trucks for asphalt transport. These trucks, which legally carry a 21 to 22 t load, are also used to pull the floats with which we transport ourselves sustaining paving spread. Each of these trailers can carry the new Mauldin 1550-C paver, a skid steer loader and at least one roller for compaction," continued Charles Augello.

"The company specializes in paving everything from small residential driveways, to parking lots, to what are referred to as farm driveways. These are actually more likely to be upscale driveways for homes in the $800 000 to $1,5 million range. They are called farm driveways because of their length and quantity of asphalt required, being far more than a small house driveway," continued the firm's president.

"Lately, with the increased cost of asphalt and the price of the new equipment we use to put it down, we cannot economically afford to pave single small driveways. We must group several of these together in the same area to justify the time and material.

"We simply will not sacrifice the quality of our work to do inferior paving. A driveway or parking lot that will last is no better than the base material that it is put on. That takes time to do it right, including installing the proper drainage. In this part of Canada, we often have severe freeze/thaw cycles twice a year and poor drainage will quickly destroy an asphalt mat," said Tony Imbrogno.

"Another important factor is that we provide our customers with the full depth asphalt mats that they pay for. Our reputation is very important to us to bring in new business. So our paving quotes are based on the final compacted depth of pavement. In other words, a 5 cm thick asphalt mat means precisely that, a full 5 cm surface, not 5 cm compacted to 3,8 cm thick.

"Our new Mauldin 1550-C with its Freedom Four screed significantly helps us in that endeavor and also to maintain our reputation. Typically we use a Type HL3A asphalt mix because it is strong asphalt that compacts well and leaves a good looking mat. It lasts for many years. We are so confident about the quality of the work that we do that the company gives each customer, in writing, a two year warranty with each job that we do," added Tony Imbrogno.

"The driveway project that we are on today contains about 400 m2 and we will put down approximately 55 to 60 t of asphalt. With the men and machinery that we now have, including our Mauldin 1550-C paver, that should take our crew about half a day," said Tony Imbrogno.

"We did the final base preparation before we began the paving because no driveway is any better or lasts longer than the quality of the base material and drainage you put into the project. This is a repeat customer who called us back to pave the driveway for their new home because of the quality work we did on their previous home," he added.

"One of the reasons we bought our new Mauldin paver is because of its hydrostatic drive. Our old Allat C-300 machine had a chain drive and, as it got some years on it, that became brittle and occasionally would snap - usually right in the middle of a job when we needed it most. The Mauldin 1550-C, with its powerful 4 cylinder, 60 hp, water-cooled, John Deere diesel engine and its tandem Rexroth hydrostatic transmission, has eliminated that problem.

The paver is 3 m long, 3 m wide, by 1,6 m high and has an operating weight of 5650 kg with an 2,5 - 4,0 m Freedom Four vibratory screed. It has a 5,9 t hopper capacity and a two-speed 0 - 4,2 m/min paving speed.

"What really sold us on the machine was the service we have received from the guys at Asphalt-Concrete. In the beginning, they brought a similar machine out to us to try on one of our typical jobs, and stayed right with us while we did it. They were there to help us, to teach us and to answer any questions that we had. We had their full cooperation, and they're really very nice guys to deal with," continued Charles Augello.

"Any time that we have had a problem and called them, they came out immediately and solved it for us. The Mauldin 1550-C is a fast, strong, very powerful paver. It has enabled us to take on more and larger projects which has increased our financial position in the industry here in Canada. Without hesitation, I would recommend this machine to anyone looking to purchase a good reliable paver. It's like driving a Ferrari instead of a Ford," concluded the president of Wilson Paving, Ltd.