BUSINESS EXPANSION PLANS- 50 YEARS IN THE MAKING

Finley recently celebrated their 50th anniversary earmarking its growth through new partnerships, acquisitions and expansion.  Founded in 1965 by Lonnie Finley as a 5-person paving crew, today’s Finley exploded into a recognized company of over 150 workers and multiple locations to serve the entire Mid-Atlantic Region and flexes their commercial service presence in the spring of 2017 by finalizing the acquisition agreement of former competitor Mid-Atlantic Paving & Sealing.  This strategic purchase allows Finley to maintain leadership in the market by expanding their geographic territory.  Finley is now able to service areas from Baltimore, MD to Richmond, VA. The merger strengthens the company's resources to maintain consistent work quality and availability. The purchase is the first in Finley's history.  Mid-Atlantic was established by Robert B. Osburn, Jr. in 1986 and operated from the Richmond area.  Mr. Osburn's daughter Ann Kramer Stinchcomb "grew up in the business" and became a project manager and shall continue this role with the Finley team.  Ann says, "This merger brings two great companies together to provide much more for our combined list of clients... our Mid-Atlantic customers will surely benefit."

RISK REDUCTION: DOLLARS & SAFETY SENSE FOR PROPERTY MANAGERS

by: Richard Resnick
Property managers & owners have a strata of risk exposures to consider. From emergency situations to structural faults that can lead to physical harm or damage, any of those exposures can be catastrophic.  PM’s need about as much cognizance on safety as a contractor, but the PM's challenge is that their risk is spread over many different exposures. Historically, liability claims from infrastructure issues increases the cost of risk-- from auto damage inflicted by a pothole or even a personal injury from a crack in the sidewalk or parking lot. Any such claim could result in serious loss in business for the owner.  Codes are guidelines for the PM to be aware of these risks such as building access areas like parking lots and walkways.  I have seen enough cases proving that the exterior‘s safety considerations are often less prioritized- which is a huge mistake. 

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Richard Resnick is CEO of Risk Management Consultants (NYC) with extensive experience in all construction project related insurance coverages.  www.project-riskconsultants.com

Maintain NOW or SUFFER Later

As the old saying goes, you will never get a second chance to make a first impression. The condition of your parking lot is one of the first things your patrons will encounter when arriving at your property and there’s nothing more inviting than the welcome of a smooth and clean driving surface of a well-maintained pavement.

FACT:  No one enjoys rattling and thumping as their car drives over pavement cracks and potholes. The extreme fluctuations in with the Mid-Atlantic climate puts major stress on parking lots and roadways. From the blistering summers to the snowy winters, asphalt is more susceptible to premature failure and deterioration if not properly maintained. Like landscaping, mass devastation can occur if you did not re-plant, fertilize, water or prune on schedule. The same goes for Asphalt; maintenance must be part of your yearly plan. Crack fill, seal coat and minor patching will SUBSTANTIALLY increase the life span of your asphalt.

The biggest killers of asphalt are SUN and WATER! The Sun dries the asphalt out, the other breaks it apart through freeze and thaw.  If left alone, unprotected asphalt will undergo significant cracking, eroding and crumbling as the beginning of worse things to come. Once this deterioration occurs, water can freely destroy your pavement by seeping underneath- leading to COSTLY repairs later. The most cost effective way to maintain your asphalt is using SEAL COAT- the sun screen for asphalt blocking out the harmful rays and provides a BARRIER to the damaging water. 

Thinking MAINTENANCE prevents major REPAIR!  Be mindful of the age and condition of your parking lot or roadway. Pay attention to the type of traffic you have and keep an eye out for any breaks, cracks or wear spots.  Paving companies offer a variety of protective coatings, material types and protocols for quality resurfacing.  Much more than aesthetics, a well paved parking lot is largely about SAFETY for drivers and pedestrians alike. It’s best to resurface now- than to REPAVE the entire lot later.

FINLEY ASPHALT WINS 2017 HIGHEST CONTRACTOR AWARD 5 YEARS IN A ROW

June 15, 2017- Pavement Maintenance and Reconstruction, the nation’s most recognized trade publication for the paving and pavement maintenance industry, awards Finley Asphalt & Concrete the Top Contractor award for the 2016 fiscal year- making this achievement the 5th consecutive year.  Out of a nationwide poll, Finley receives major honors for the categories of Paving, Sealcoating, Striping and Repair. The Top Contractor award is given to a limited selection of companies recognized in the paving and pavement maintenance construction industry as some of the highest achievers in sales volume.  The nomination reflects the strength of their market share and customer recognition.  “Finley aims for 100% satisfaction ... referrals are our best source of work and our reputation is everything to us. A Top Contractor means being the busiest and most referred because of quality and performance,” says VP Glenn Shapiro.


Since 2013, PMR conducts fiscal activity surveys throughout the entire industry to search for “who’s who in the business”. The survey provides a view of the nature of the market and the strength of the industry.  The PMR Awards committee narrows down 50 of the highest ranking paving companies with top earnings on the categories of service; paving, striping, sealcoating and repair.  In its awards announcement PMR identified diversification of services and markets as a characteristic of most of the Top Contractors  - driving participants to strive for industry leadership by covering all service categories.  According to PMR’s website (www.forconstructionpros.com), “Diversification is an essential component of the contractors with the largest sales volume. Almost all companies on all the lists perform a variety of services for their customers… The 2017 lists reaffirm what we’ve known for some time and what the lists have confirmed since started in 2013.”  “Being nationally recognized in our industry is truly a big deal for us”, states Erick Finley, CEO of Finley Asphalt and Concrete. “Winning this top award 5 years in a row shows a consistency in our quality work… and having someone like PMR validate our work is a feather in our cap as far as how we rank in our industry.”

Functional Differences Between Asphalt Rejuvenator Emulsions & Asphalt Seal Coat Emulsions in Protecting Pavement Surfaces

Contributed by: GEMSEAL PAVEMENT PRODUCTS

Asphalt rejuvenators & seal coat formulations have emerged regionally over the last 20+ years as pavement maintenance applications to combat environmental factors causing deterioration of asphalt pavements. Use of rejuvenators is more common in western regions of the US while asphalt seal coat is more often used in regions of the Midwest, Northeast and South. Both technologies evolved by design to arrest the identifiable mechanisms of pavement distress leading to pavement failure. But the major environmental causes of surface weathering in Denver may not be the same as those in Boston.

In hot dry climates of the West, the primary cause of pavement deterioration is oxidation and embrittlement of asphalt binder at the pavement surface from prolonged exposure to sun & high temperatures. Loss of fine aggregates from the surface of the asphalt pavement matrix is often attributed as the main cause leading to raveling of larger aggregate and ultimate pavement failure. Rejuvenators are generally asphalt emulsions containing lighter asphalt fractions to re‐soften oxidized asphalt binder at the pavement surface, which assists the binder in retaining encapsulated aggregate fines, and minimizing aggregate loss by traffic wear. In northern regions of the country, asphalt binder oxidation is a minor contributing factor of pavement wear. The major destructive factors of pavements in these regions are water penetration and stresses induced by repeated freeze/thaw cycles, leading to pavement cracking, further water intrusion and subsequent erosion of the pavement sub‐base. Seal coat mix formulations are designed to provide a sealing membrane to protect the pavement surface from water penetration, and better address the environmental factors to preserve pavement surfaces encountered in the Midwest and Northeast. Seal coat formulations usually containing sand are widely used in parking lot maintenance programs and are found to be effective in prolonging pavement assets in these areas, where use of rejuvenator formulations is comparatively rare. Both asphalt based rejuvenators and pavement seal coat formulations can be effective, but were each designed to address different climatic factors unique to regional climates, and not suited to one‐size‐fits‐all remedies.

BEST PAVEMENT FOR RACING- how asphalt affects any vehicle.

To understand and appreciate quality pavement engineering and the effect of good asphalt on the driving experience, let us take on the perspective of a CYCLIST.  The long-distance cyclist takes on many road conditions are notably the single-best people to discern the quality of any pavement and how they affect your driving experience and the performance of your vehicle on any given road.

As with all road vehicles, success in the sport of cycling and the bike's performance completely relies on the "rubber meets the road" dynamics where the surface & texture, aggregate type, condition and flexibility (ability to expand & contract in certain temperatures) all pay a significant role in the cyclists' physical endurance and the tires' overall response.

TEXTURE vs ADHESION
Roads and race tracks are both commonly paved with Asphalt. Depending on the size of the crushed rocks (or aggregates) used, new paving can provide a bumpy ride resulting in vibrations that add resistance to a vehicle (affecting a car's mileage and more fatigue and physical strain to a cyclist).   At high speeds, the bouncing effect caused by the asphalt texture creates "micro-tremmors" or
"micro-shocks" that bring a vertical resistance to your frontal motion as your tires are constantly lifting above ground in each mini-bump.  This causes significant reduction in the adhesion between rubber and road, reducing your forward thrust and glide.

Eventually, asphalt aggregates flatten out more once enough tires roll over them enough times- but what remains is a certain level of adhesiveness of the asphalt material interacting with your tires.  It is this adhesiveness that forms the GRIP - especially at higher speeds equating to higher temperatures supporting and adding to your vehicle's frontal propulsion.

AGING SURFACES & PERFORMANCE LOSS
The asphalt liquid binder is usually a petroleum-based product and is engineered to endure the day-to-day wear of any road or street.  Over time, the adhesion of asphalt onto itself wears with age, climate changes and the daily abuse from heavy vehicles (flattening or compressing the asphalt removes the flexibility).  It then begins to crumble and form cracks and debris like grains of gravel and sand on the surface that adds to the loss of tire grip and friction.  This reduction in grip translates into tire slippage which also adds to speed and performance loss.

POTHOLE SEASON IS ALL YEAR ROUND!

(A true story by: Mrs. Natasha Murphy - McLean, VA 10/23/2017)

So I was driving down route 66 toward Fairfax one afternoon heading back to get my daughter from dance class.  After enduring three days of heavy rain,  and at last, a blue sky and dry roads are back- gracing us with a picture-perfect day without any traffic or stress.  But like all good things, an end to a drama-free day was looming just behind the bend.

BANG! Something violently awful and unexpected hit my car from below... it was the road itself!  A pothole... a #*&$% pothole!!! More like a crater engulfed my left side and cut my tire in two parts when my wheel hit the sharp edge of the road.  From the drivers' side, my eye did not catch this until it was almost under me. I tried to stay composed behind the wheel and carefully slow down with the fear of losing control of the wheel and get any additional damage, but it was too late-- a ripped tire, a dented wheel and a screwed up alignment (totaling $1150 in repairs) just placed me into the list of millions of drivers affected by a post-rain pothole.

If this story sounds familiar to you, it's because you are far from alone.  From tire blowouts to bent wheels to major suspensions and axle replacements, over 3.2 Million Americans have reportedly accrued considerable damage to their cars due to potholes each year.  The American Automobile Association (AAA) estimates pothole damage costs US drivers $3 Billion in repairs each year*. The ASCE  (American Society of Civil Engineers) the cost of bad roads to American businesses between now and 2022 is estimated to cost $240 Billion **.

Sitting like a lame duck on the side of the road waiting for AAA to bail me out got me thinking about those FINLEY road construction crews that are usually to blame for my morning drive-to-work  delays.  It didn't dawn on me until now that "they were actually NOT the bad guys after all".  I also realized how vulnerable we as drivers are to these eventualities since our very roadways are that easily affected by nature.  I can only imagine that if a few days of wet weather caused this, we've got a whole country and  millions of miles of streets and roadways exposed to varying climates and megatons of vehicles each day that need constant maintenance.