Executive Director's Message July 2014

A Busy Time of Year…

 The orange barrels on the road and the smell of fresh asphalt in the air tells me that we are in full swing and in the heart of the season as an industry.  And while we are busily engaged in bettering communities and neighborhoods up, down, and all across Utah, the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association (UAPA) is anxiously engaged in a number of activities that have served to promote and protect our industry here in the state.  Here’s a quick recap of just a few of the things that have been keeping the association engaged and active:

·       On June 16^th, the association held its first-ever business roundtable for our placement and maintenance contractors.  The purpose of the meeting was to assess how UAPA can better serve the needs of these important members.  The discussion was frank, open, and honest.  And from it, UAPA now has several actionable items to help meet the needs of this segment of industry.

·       On June 17^th, UAPA hosted Representative Johnny Anderson from the Utah House of Representatives on a plant tour and business roundtable at the facilities for Kilgore Companies.  As the association continues to grow and mature, such connections to people like Rep. Anderson will be vital to our efforts in helping to secure infrastructure funding for the state of Utah.  This meeting and plant tour was an important step in helping to lay that groundwork.

·       On June 30^th, the association met with UDOT for our next installment of the UDOT-UAPA Quarterly Meeting.  At that meeting we continued to work with the department to move forward with important items from our Industry Improvement Agenda. 

·       Additionally, the association has recently held meetings with the APWA, Questar Gas Company, and participated in a FHWA EDC Initiative highlighting high friction surface courses.

July promises to be just as busy as June.  I hope you will join us for our Lunch and Learn on the 17^th of July.  We’ll be lucky to hear from Joe Johnson on what goes in to producing quality hot mix asphalt along with the basics on how an asphalt plant works. 

We’re busy, but we are productive and we can always do more, so please do not hesitate to reach out to me if there is anything UAPA can do for you. 

 

                                                                                          - W. Reed Ryan

                                                                                          Executive Director

                                                                                         Utah Asphalt Pavement Association