I WAS THE FIRST CONTRACTOR TO OWN AND OPERATE AN INFRARED UNIT WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI IN 1988. I BOUGHT A TRUCK-MOUNTED POWER RAY UNIT FROM CLAREMONT NH. (NOW RAY-TECH). AT FIRST I WAS STRUGGLING TO FIND WORK. ONE DAY A MAJOR PAVER NEEDED HELP LOWERING SOME TRUCK DOCKS THAT WERE TOO HIGH. I GOT TO THE JOB SITE AND HIS CREW WAS USING BURNER TORCHES TO HEAT AND SCRAPE THE HARD ASPHALT, LOOKED LIKE CRAP! I DROPPED MY 6X8 PAN AND HEATED THE AREAS FOR ABOUT 4 MIN. AND ROLLED IT WITH A ONE TON VIBRATE ROLLER. IT COMPACTED IT TO JUST WHERE THEY NEEDED IT TO BE. I HAD THAT PAVER’S BUSINESS FOREVER AFTER HE SAW THAT UNIT WORK. WHEN YOU BRING IN A NEW UNIT TO AN UNEDUCATED AREA FOR INFRARED, BID IT AS JUST A PATCH LIKE EVERYONE ELSE! KEEP IN MIND THIS, INFRARED HAS ITS LIMITATIONS. I ALWAYS SAID IF THE BASE IS EXPOSED, DON’T INFRARED, R&R;THOSE AREAS. BUT INFRARED DOES SO MUCH COST EFFECTIVELY. I COULD IN 15 MIN. HEAT, FRAME, RAKE, ADD ASPHALT AND ROLL A PATCH. I AVERAGED 40 HEATS PER 4 TONS OF ASPHALT. AT THAT TIME I WAS GETTING $90.00 TO $120.00 PER HEAT!! NOT TODAY, THE NATIONAL AVERAGE FOR ONE 6X8 HEAT REPAIR IS AROUND $50.00 PER HEAT. WITH THE HIGH COST OF ASPHALT TODAY, AN INFRARED UNIT IS A GEM TO HAVE IN PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE BUSINESS. DO NOT BE APPREHENSIVE, GO FOR IT. I ACTUALLY DO NOT KNOW OF ANY LARGE PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE COMPANY THAT DOES NOT HAVE ONE. THERE ARE MANY TYPES OF INFRARED UNITS ON THE MARKET TODAY. I WILL GIVE YOU A FEW NOW AND YOU CAN CALL THEM AND HEAR THEIR PITCHES AS TO WHY YOU SHOULD OWN THEIR MACHINE. IF YOU CALL ME AT 800-892-6701 OR EMAIL ME HERE AT PAVEMAN PRO I WOULD BE HAPPY TO FURTHER DISCUSS YOUR QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS. HERE ARE A COUPLE YOU CAN CALL TO GET YOU STARTED. (RAY-TECH 800-884-2072 ASK FOR (WES.) 2. (K-M INTERNATIONAL 800-492-1757) GOOD LUCK AND AS ALWAYS YOU WILL FIND ALL THE PEOPLE AFFILIATED WITH PAVEMAN PRO ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO HELP YOU WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT ANY PHASE OF THE ASPHALT AND PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE INDUSTRY. THANKS FOR YOUR QUESTIONS… MARK MCLEOD MAINTENANCE INCORPORATED.
