Albuquerque Asphalt’s I-40 paving project highlights the company’s streamlined preventive maintenance operations featuring two-man crews on service trailers requiring no CDL/HAZMAT.

Highway asphalt paving is a high-stakes performance of people, equipment, traffic, schedules and materials. It requires the best at it to be smart, organized and intentional. It also doesn’t hurt to have a little attitude, be a little lucky, and have a whole lot of commitment—to the work itself, and to the team around you.

Having spent time with the team from Albuquerque Asphalt Inc. as they completed a deep mill-and-fill project on I-40 in Albuquerque, it is evident the company has these traits in spades.

Founded in 1981, Albuquerque Asphalt Inc. specializes in arterial road rehabilitation, road reconstruction, commercial and industrial asphalt paving, and site development. Since the company’s founding, it has grown from a small asphalt repair company to a leading asphalt paving contractor, servicing much of central New Mexico and surrounding areas.

The project included a deep mill across two lanes of interstate and two lifts of fresh asphalt—all put down at night with the road being turned back over to the public at 5 a.m. every day.

The Thunder Creek MTO 690 is built to hold a total capacity of 690 gallons, but no one tank holds more than 115 gallons, according to the manufacturer, which means the trailer doesn’t require a HAZMAT endorsement. When the contractor tows it with the right truck, it doesn’t require a CDL, either.

For Albuquerque Asphalt, a team of more than 200 people spread across asphalt, dirtwork, concrete, crushing and production crews, it’s an extremely deliberate deployment of people and resources to ensure optimal asphalt quality while also working efficiently enough to make business profitable. That includes the timely and efficient performance of preventive maintenance fleet management activities.

Supported by Four Rivers Equipment, Albuquerque Asphalt restructured its preventive maintenance work to move away from larger service trucks that required drivers to have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) and hazardous materials (HAZMAT) endorsement because it became increasingly difficult to find those drivers. Oftentimes, those who do have the endorsements don’t always have the mechanic’s mindset to do preventive maintenance work. The solution: a two-person team matched with a truck hauling a Multi-Tank Oil [MTO] 690 trailer from Thunder Creek Equipment.

The Multi-Tank Oil (MTO) trailer is a hybrid preventive maintenance and fueling solution designed to handle up to 920 gallons and up to six different service fluids including oil, coolant and reclaim, as well as daily fluids like diesel, DEF and grease. It can also be equipped with various power systems.

Nighttime Paving Leads to Daytime Prevention

In addition to the practical convenience of nighttime paving—especially in New Mexico where the combination of hot asphalt and high daytime temperatures can be brutal—Albuquerque presents a unique logistical challenge as it relates to traffic: there are only so many bridges that cross the Rio Grande River. Minimizing traffic disruption is critical.

Albuquerque Asphalt plans each shift of milling and paving intricately to ensure that it can get the day’s work milled and covered with at least one lift of asphalt on it so that it’s drivable by 5 a.m. With the deep mill on this project, each section works in a three-day cycle.

• Day 1: Mill a section and pave lift one.
• Day 2: Mill a section and pave lift one.
• Day 3: Pave the final lift across the previous two days’ work.

All equipment is lined up in the interstate median during the day and brought back to life again after dark to repeat the cycle.

The company has been at the forefront of many trends in the industry that have allowed larger paving companies to streamline operations. It owns its own asphalt plant, controlling the production, quality and access to asphalt. They also do their own quality testing at an in-house lab. And they have been long-time leaders in recycling crushed and milled materials, including using it as road base and by introducing a certain percentage of millings into the hot mix.

Thunder Creek Launches New MTO Service, Fuel, Lube Trailer

With their growth has come more equipment, greater scrutiny on uptime and a changing mindset on how to perform preventive maintenance work. The previous method involved larger lube trucks that required drivers with a CDL and HAZMAT endorsement. As the fleet grew, it became more difficult to find those drivers, and if they did find them, they were not always interested in doing preventive maintenance work.

“You can find CDL/HAZMAT drivers, but you’ve gotta find the CDL/HAZMAT drivers willing to do this type of work,” said Jacky Spencer, vice president of operations, Albuquerque Asphalt. “We’ve taken younger people with more of a mechanic background and a good work ethic, and we train them to this specific task.”

It was this challenge that led Four Rivers Equipment to introduce Albuquerque Asphalt to the MTO 690 trailers, which the company now owns three of.

“The last few years you can’t find anyone,” said Robert Wood, president and partner, Albuquerque Asphalt. “If you limit yourself to CDL-driven service trucks, that limits your pool of employees. My manager said ‘we can’t find CDL drivers,’ and these were available, and we thought it was a good idea.

“Now we have three of these units and we haven’t bought any more service trucks.”

To ensure equipment is ready for nighttime milling and paving operations, a two-person preventive maintenance team tows one of the Thunder Creek MTO 690 trailers to the job site. The heavy equipment is staged in the median for the evening’s work, which makes it easy and efficient for the team to go from one machine to the next, fueling, greasing, filling DEF, blowing out air filters, topping off fluids and performing a final walkaround. Photos courtesy of Thunder Creek

Thunder Creek and Two-Man PM Crew Key to Success

Spencer and Joseph Otero, a superintendent with the company, have spearheaded much of this new approach to preventive maintenance. It revolves around the MTO 690 and a two-man crew. The men pull up to the median or right-of-way (or wherever the equipment might be staged), and they go methodically from machine to machine performing preventive maintenance work. One fuels while the other greases. One fills diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) while the other blows out air filters. One does a walkaround of the machine to identify any issues while the other tops off fluids. And then they move on to the next machine.

The Thunder Creek MTO 690, with its ability to hold critical service fluids in combination up to 690 gallons, is the centerpiece of this operation. Towed behind any of the company’s pickup or service trucks, the trailers navigate each job site and allow each team member to get close to the equipment they are working on.

“If you take a big lube truck, and you take this setup—this is still a lot easier to get inside of [safety] barrels and get next to stuff,” Spencer said. “I like that they’re not climbing up and down the side of the truck all the time. That’s a big deal for me. Everything is really accessible.”

Because each fluid compartment holds less than 119 gallons (115 gallons is the max), the trailer does not require a HAZMAT endorsement. When matched with the right truck, it does not require a CDL. Albuquerque Asphalt outfits each of its trailers with a combination of diesel, engine oil, hydraulic fluid, DEF, a greasing system and an oil reclaim system, allowing each team to perform all critical preventive maintenance work in the field. The on-board air compressor helps for numerous tasks, including blowing out filters.

What’s New in Material, Equipment Transport?

“What’s nice about the Thunder Creeks is, when we go to do oil changes, you get the reservoir where you suck it up and put it in the tank as opposed to putting it in buckets—makes everything more efficient,” Otero said. “Greasing, fueling, oil changes. Then at the end of the day we regroup and dump everything out. It’s just rolling, rolling, rolling—it’s all productive.”

The two-person crew gives the company flexibility in its staffing and helps ensure that preventive maintenance work is completed in a timely manner each day, versus being short-handed if a driver is unavailable. If one of the crew calls out, they can be substituted by any team member. This has also helped prevent unnecessary downtime on the weekends.

“We cut down the cost, as far as hours,” Otero said. “Instead of working 60-70 hours, you include these bad boys and break up the work evenly…everything gets done across the board and it’s not slowing us down.”

Four Rivers has helped Albuquerque Asphalt every step of the way, serving as both fleet consultants for the equipment, and fleet management consultants as it relates to preventive maintenance.

How You Should Handle DEF

“Four Rivers is always looking for a way to improve our business,” Spencer said. “When they have new products, they don’t push them on us, they bring them to our attention. A big part of our success right now is because of Four Rivers. They always answer the phone. They’re available 24 hours, seven days a week, because that’s what we run. Having somebody like Four Rivers is huge.”

For Spencer, the new approach to preventive maintenance and the flexibility of the Thunder Creek trailers are critical to the company’s highway paving success.

“They’ve been a gamechanger for us,” he said. “Servicing equipment is a fast-paced job. Everything’s got to be checked. Fueled up. Oil levels checked,” Otero said. “With the Thunder Creeks, everything’s done, everyone’s happy, and we don’t have to worry about anything.”

Eric Swan is the territory sales manager, Thunder Creek Equipment.

Innovations in snow removal equipment is enabling a leading New England company to clear more snow with less equipment, labor, maintenance and repair

Many snow removal businesses base their decision on acquiring snow plow or pusher attachments on the initial cost, overlooking long-term expenses, improved efficiency, quality of clearing, and the potential to secure additional projects. When considering these factors for the upcoming winter down season, the optimal return on investment is achieved through adaptable and agile attachments, even if the upfront expenditure is a little higher.

According to Degen Kelly, director of operations at Outdoor Pride, Manchester, New Hampshire, a company that generates approximately $13 million in annual revenue from snow removal services, it is tempting to focus on the lower initial purchase cost or to simply order the same attachments other companies use. This leads many to just “rinse and repeat,” he says.

However, for the greatest overall returns, more attention should be given to the ROI that higher quality attachments provide. These attachments offer more flexible choices that allow a variety of movements in tight spaces, while adding to the value of skid steers, which are specifically designed to be nimble. Unfortunately, many standard snow plows and pushers have limited functionality, and if big and bulky, turn a nimble skid steer or wheel loader into a large, clumsy piece of equipment with limited maneuverability.

Of course, given the harsh environments where snow removal is required, these attachments must not only perform efficiently but also must last over time.

“Once you crunch the numbers, you see how much time [high quality attachments] can save, how much onsite equipment you can eliminate, how much quicker your operators can work, and how much longer the equipment lasts,” Kelly said. Earlier in his career, he was responsible for operating snow clearing machinery with a range of attachments from different manufacturers.

“Once you start to think about the ROI with the goal of doing more with less equipment, using a more flexible, quality attachment is a no-brainer,” Kelly said.

Given the harsh environments where snow removal is required, these attachments must not only perform efficiently but also must last over time. Photos courtesy of SnowWolf Plows

Removing New England’s Heaviest Snow Loads

Founded in 1988, Outdoor Pride has become one of the largest landscape and snow management providers in New England. Like many landscape contractors, the company offers year-round service that includes snow removal in the winter for large commercial and government-owned properties.

“All the facilities we maintain are zero tolerance, which means that if they ever had to shut down, they could lose a lot of revenue every hour,” Kelly said. “So, the ability to quickly and safely clear snow from a site is essential. We need our entire fleet of equipment effectively performing every day during snow events.”

According to Kelly, the average annual snowfall in New Hampshire amounts to approximately 60 inches. However, as recently as 2020, the state experienced winters with snowfall exceeding 100 inches. To keep up with the high demand for snow removal services, Outdoor Pride maintains a large fleet of more than 300 machines, ranging from trucks and full-size loaders to skid steers and walkway equipment.

For snow removal, the company has 85 Bobcat skid steers and mini loaders, each equipped with a unique AutoWing attachment from SnowWolf Plows, xxx, Minnesota.

Founded in Minnesota in the 1970s as a family run snow removal and landscaping contract business, SnowWolf transitioned into the role of equipment manufacturer in 1990. Today, the OEM offers a variety of models and sizes of snow plows, pushers, blowers and other snow removal accessories that are compatible with skid steers, wheel loaders, front-end loaders, tractors and other machinery.

Among the OEM’s offerings is its patented AutoWing QuattroPlows, available in four models and machine operating weights, which are specialized attachments that allow operators to switch between angle plowing, wide-angle plowing, pushing and back dragging on the fly.

According to Kelly, Outdoor Pride discovered the QuattroPlow seven years ago, at a time when they were looking for an alternative to the attachments they were using.

“Most of the other options were flimsy, fixed box [snow pushers]. You really didn’t have the flexibility to drag or angle. The attachments where backdragging and angling was an option were bulky and limited the ability to easily maneuver the skid steer.”

In contrast, a key feature of the AutoWing design is the ability to extend and retract its side wings independently, depending on the width of the road or the amount of snow cleared. This allows operators to clear wider swaths of snow without manually adjusting the plow’s position, increasing productivity and reducing the need for additional passes.

The AutoWing is also unique because it only requires one hydraulic circuit for operation. No additional wiring is necessary and there are no specialized controls. The attachment can be angled left or right with a standard control feature on the joystick. The user-friendly design simplifies operator training.

“[The QuattroPlow] has all the great aspects of a fixed box, along with the ability to easily angle and back drag,” Kelly said. “It has a very simple setup with just two hydraulic lines.”

Outdoor Pride also elected to use SnowWolf’s ActivEdge, a unique design involving multiple cutting-edge sections with individual adjustability and adaptability. The floating cutting edges allow for more precise snow removal even on varied surfaces and minimizes the need for excessive salt or deicing agents.

“We have seen a benefit from utilizing the [ActivEdge]. Our plow edges are now following the contours of the pavement a lot easier.”

The increased efficiency of Outdoor Pride’s snow removal equipment has substantially improved its operations. Kelly estimates the amount of time to clear a complex area has been reduced by one-third, which often means an additional machine is not required. Due to its ability to conform to surface contours, the ActivEdge more effectively clears the area, reducing the necessity for additional passes or excessive salt applied post scrape.

Although decreasing operator time is important to Outdoor Pride, Kelly says there are other ancillary factors that contribute to the ROI. One of those factors is the ability of the equipment to withstand the rigors of annual snow clearing.

According to Kelly, some of the accessories on the market, “seem to get banged up a lot easier and require some serious attention to maintenance. With some of the competitors [that we were utilizing at the time], the implement was unusable after just a few years and the repair cost would’ve been too much,” he said, adding that the QuattroPlows the company purchased seven years ago are still in service and other than new edges from time to time have required very little maintenance.

“The [attachment] is an investment, but from what we have found, it is an investment that gives us results and lasts,” Kelly said. “We are experiencing significant ROI in decreased operator time to get through an entire property. We also see it in the longevity of the product.”

While the initial cost of equipment like snow plows or pushers can be significant, it is essential to evaluate their long-term benefits, including increased efficiency, better quality of clearing and the ability to handle more jobs.

By opting for more flexible and nimble attachments, snow removal services can enhance their operational efficiency and effectiveness. When the ROI is carefully analyzed, it becomes evident that the initial higher investment in advanced attachments pays off, making them an indispensable component of modern snow removal strategies.

For more information, contact SnowWolf at (800) 905-2265 or email info@snowwolfplows.com.