APE December 2023 | Page 28

MARVIN JOLES III
DANIEL WRIGHT
BLACKTOP BANTER

“ LOTS ” OF CRACKS

MARVIN JOLES III

DANIEL WRIGHT

In the past few years , if you have been paying attention much , the Cracksealing market , as far as offerings from manufacturers go , has been “ heating up ”.

With every manufacturer showing off new features and making advancements to their staple pieces of equipment , the competition to create the best Cracksealing machine on the market has been getting good . Which helps us as contractors overall , as the machines are running better , heating better , lasting longer , getting safer and getting easier to operate .
If you follow Blacktop Banter on social media , you will see that we do numerous “ walkthroughs ” and highlights of these machines at conferences and on site across the country . Through these interviews , attending conferences , talking to their local suppliers or just reaching out to the manufacturer directly , the potential customer ( us contractors ) can figure out which one suits our needs best .
But the market goes much “ deeper ” and has a “ wider ” array of offerings than what ’ s “ at the surface ”… ok , I ’ m done with the Cracksealing puns .
Also , at these shows , we get a chance to see some Cracksealing ideas and offerings that employ todays technology , robotics , infrared , and more .
The direct fire melters market is a fun one for me to watch personally , because that ’ s where I started as a contractor and so many other contractors that I speak to regularly are there too . The infrared technology to heat these melters has been a major upgrade for efficiency and safety . You can likely even “ Retro-Fit ” your old DF melter with an Infrared heating system . Reach out to me via my email at the end of this article for more info .
With many choices on Cracksealing rubber materials and more popping up seemingly every other year , our network of contractors at the Blacktop Banter Success Group talk about the “ Best and Worst ” ones out there often and if the prices we are paying are worth the quality that we may be sacrificing . Let ’ s be honest , if you have shopped around and tried different ones in this area of our material choices , you know this to be true . You seemingly do “ get what you pay for ” when it comes to the quality of Direct Fire crack sealant . I cannot recommend shopping around and trying different products enough . Find the one that ’ s just right for you and what you aim to offer .
Lastly on my end , and I hate to always be promoting events and conferences ( they truly are awesome ), but there are great educational courses put on by some of the leading Industry conferences over the “ Off-Season ” and they are led by people who KNOW how to succeed at Cracksealing efficiency , techniques and pricing . Do yourself a favor if you are attending these conferences and signup for one or three .
I don ’ t want to leave you without any quality insight that you can put into action though , so I employed the help of my friend Daniel Wright , President and CEO of Proline Parking Lot Maintenance to offer us “ 3 Quick Tips for Successful Cracksealing ”.
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