COVER STORY | ADVERTORIAL
Crafco helped develop industry best practices like heating pavement to appropriate application temperature for crack sealing and patching.
The EZ Patcher skid steer attachment made pavement patching faster and safer.
Modern melters like the popular Super Shot are usually diesel-fired, with larger-capacity tanks, high-output pumps, and numerous features and options.
viding hot-pour sealants into four types based on climate and defining test standards to ensure material conformance. To help ASTM establish the new standards, Crafco provided engineering expertise, test material, and other support. The company remains involved with many industry groups that develop best practices and train the next generation of professionals. Although crack routing and sealing had become more common by the 1990s, wide cracks and distressed areas still presented a problem that crack sealant was not designed to address. In 1999, Crafco introduced Polypatch, a hot-applied repair mastic designed to treat areas that were too large for crack sealing but too small for full replacement. Mastic typically contains aggregate for load-bearing properties, but the material remains flexible to accommodate thermal movement in the pavement. The combination of versatility, speed, durability, and cost-effectiveness makes mastic a popular repair option compared to typical HMA repairs. Today’ s successor to Polypatch is Mastic One, with improved aggregate, adhesion, and flexibility. Crafco also offers a unique gray mastic called TechCrete for discreet repairs to concrete or oxidized asphalt pavements. This new class of material required a new type of melter because crack sealant pumps are not designed to handle aggregate. Coinciding with the release of Polypatch, Crafco debuted its first Polypatch mastic melter, featuring an auger that both mixed the material and dispensed it through a chute. Crafco’ s modern Patcher line has continued to evolve, with the 200-gallon Patcher II released in 2005 and the 395-gallon Patcher 4 released in 2023. The Crafco EZ Patcher skid steer
Research continues to improve crack sealant performance and life span. attachment— a totally new concept in pavement patching— debuted in 2024. Because Crafco manufactures both the materials and the equipment used to apply them, the company’ s engineering teams can collaborate to ensure both components work seamlessly together. This eliminates guesswork, streamlines installation, and reduces maintenance. The pavement preservation industry continues to advance. Over the past five decades, that progress has saved incalculable funds, labor, and lives. Every mile of well-maintained pavement is a testament to innovation and the hard work of those on the front lines. Here’ s to another 50 years of excellence!
For more information on Crafco and their products, please visit www. crafco. com.
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