PAVING CORNER Paving technology changes, but the objective remains the same: build long-lasting asphalt pavement at the lowest practical cost
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he asphalt paving directly with our customer industry has witnessed base. His experience level and significant technological easy demeanor make Perkins a change over the last two great asset as a trainer, advisor decades. VÖGELE has been and source of information for an industry technology our customers. leader and remains on As Perkins explains, “Each the cutting edge of new customer has different needs processes and techniques based on the crews’ experience Robert Perkins, that will shape the future, Paving and level, the equipment that they such as incorporating Compaction Specialist are putting into service, and thermal imaging into the job to be performed. Our the paving unit. Even in the midst of paving customers range from small new technologies, mix designs and cities doing minor street repairs and specification changes, the objective has overlays to large highway contractors remained the same — to produce building major projects for TxDOT. In high-quality, long-lasting asphalt any case, teaching the fundamentals pavement at the lowest practical cost. Best of best practices, operational team practices, team building and operational building and achieving good densities training are still the keys to success. are essential to a good delivery. Job At Kirby-Smith Machinery Inc., our safety is always a priority with us. experience has shown us that a robust, on-the-job training session at the time of demonstration or delivery of a new paver is the best way to teach and reinforce these concepts. A crew that is well-versed in the correct operation and technical capabilities of an asphalt paver is more productive, confident and safe. A crew equipped with proper maintenance of the paver will result in lower operating costs and greater efficiency over time. Our philosophy is to achieve these training goals from the beginning to enhance the ownership experience for our customers. Having in-house asphalt paving expertise in conjunction with the reliable team for VÖGELE gives us more latitude and flexibility to accommodate our customers’ needs. Our VÖGELE asphalt paving and compaction expert at Kirby-Smith is Robert Perkins, who has 19 years of industry experience. He has worked in the contracting sector as a project manager and estimator, and at the manufacturing level as an application specialist for WIRTGEN AMERICA. He now works at the distributor level
Beyond the initial training, I like to establish a good relationship with our customers so they feel that they can call on me for advice in the future. It’s always good to return to a happy customer to help them with any job issues that they may have.” More than ever, the asphalt paving business is demanding and competitive. With increasing costs and skilled labor in high demand, the challenges of our COVID-19 environment are clear. Whether you are a city or county administrator trying to stretch budget dollars to do more work, or a contractor in the private sector seeking to be more competitive, paving fundamentals and best practices are essential to success. Investing in our customers’ success with expertise and training is another way that Kirby-Smith adds value. ■
A crew that is well-versed in the correct operation and technical capabilities of an asphalt paver is more productive, confident and safe. Having in-house asphalt paving expertise in conjunction with the reliable team for VÖGELE gives Kirby-Smith Machinery Inc. more latitude and flexibility to accommodate our customers’ needs.
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