Pave It Black: The Official Podcast of NAPA
Pave It Black is the official podcast of the National Asphalt Pavement Association. Since 2020, NAPA's Richard Willis and Brett Williams have sparked conversations about the people, issues, and technologies that drive the asphalt pavement industry forward. Stay tuned for Season 7: Conversations from the Capitol! Coming soon to all streaming platforms.
Episodes
October 8, 2024 • 24 mins
This week, we’re exploring a technology that will significantly change how asphalt plants operate: remote-operated, autonomous loaders. To learn more about this technology, Richard and Brett talk to Vince Hafeli of Ajax Paving Industries of Florida, the first company in America to introduce this technology. Vince walks us through the technology behind autonomous loaders, how Ajax began its journey with this tech, and its impact on ...
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October 1, 2024 • 25 mins
In this episode of Pave It Black we’re diving into the world of additive technologies. Additives play a crucial role in enhancing mixture performance and promoting sustainability through increased recycle content and lower production temperatures. To help us learn more about this topic, Richard and Brett talk to Patrick Weaver from Surface Tech. Patrick discusses best practices for introducing and controlling new technologies in as...
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September 24, 2024 • 27 mins
In the third episode of season 8, Richard and Brett discuss today’s most popular technology advancements: artificial intelligence. In 2023, in partnership with XBE, we launched HeyNAPA, a dedicated AI search engine that lets you access technical documents and helps answer any asphalt pavement-related queries. As more companies within the industry adopt AI technologies, we talk to Luke Kotz of Mannatts, Inc. to discuss how AI is ma...
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September 17, 2024 • 31 mins
In this episode of Pave It Black, we tackle one of the asphalt industry’s biggest challenges: recruiting and retaining talent. While many regions are struggling, Georgia is seeing success thanks to the integration of innovative workforce simulators. To help us dive into this topic, we asked Ray Rodriguez from CW Matthews to explain what these simulators are, how they work, and the tangible benefits they provide for both companies a...
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There's a synergy between technology and sustainability: Understanding digital solutions for asphalt
September 10, 2024 • 24 mins
Welcome back to a brand-new season of Pave It Black! For Season Eight, we are revisiting the topic of technology and learning from the people who use it. To kick off our season, Richard and Brett explore how technological innovations enhance sustainability in the asphalt pavement industry. With the help of Trevor Wagoner and Eric Baker from Astec Industries, we explore how data analytics aid sustainable decision-making, why integra...
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May 14, 2024 • 50 mins
In the penultimate episode of Conversations from the Capital, we revisit the topic of airfield paving. To understand how agency and industry work together to improve pavement performance, Richard and Brett sit down with Jeff Crislip from the Federal Aviation Administration and Marty McNamara from Granite Construction. Tune in to learn more about the upcoming changes in airfield specifications, the reason behind stricter specificati...
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May 7, 2024 • 24 mins
Richard and Brett discuss airfield construction and the importance of employee training. In this high-stakes environment, ensuring that employees are well-trained is vital for constructing quality pavements. They talk to Matthew Hoyle from the US Army Corps of Engineers and Travis Walbeck from the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) at Auburn University to learn more about the Airfield Asphalt Certification Program. Liste...
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April 30, 2024 • 32 mins
In this week's episode of Pave It Black, Richard and Brett delve into the topic of electric vehicles (EVs) and how they affect the asphalt pavement industry. With more EVs on the road, new technologies are emerging to support these vehicles. To shed light on these developments, Reed Ryan from the Asphalt Pavement Alliance and Amir Golalipour from the Federal Highway Administration were invited to discuss inductive charging and its ...
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April 23, 2024 • 27 mins
For this episode of Pave It Black, Richard and Brett discuss the topic of standards and their role in the asphalt pavement industry. With the help of Oak Metcalf from the Montana Department of Transportation and Kelly Cook from the Edward Levy Company, we learn how industry and agencies work on specifications to ensure that our products help build the best highway systems and roads. Deep dive into the world of AASHTO and ASTM, lear...
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March 26, 2024 • 27 mins
In the latest episode of Pave It Black, Richard and Brett catch up with NAPA's Government Affairs Team to get an update on their recent advocacy activities and upcoming plans. Nile Elam, the Vice President of Government Affairs, joins the conversation to discuss NAPA's advocacy goals, his World of Asphalt PPP session, and the upcoming efforts planned for Distracted Driving Month. Listen and find out how you can participate in the u...
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March 12, 2024 • 25 mins
In this episode of Pave It Black, Richard and Brett explore the use of low carbon construction materials in the asphalt pavement industry. To guide our conversation, we spoke with Walter Tersch from the General Services Administration, as well as Scott Legg and Fred Marvel from Brannan Companies. Gain insight into the specific requirements the GSA asks of businesses, including the importance of providing Environmental Product Decla...
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March 5, 2024 • 27 mins
In the latest episode of Pave It Black, Richard and Brett delve into the ENERGY STAR program and its potential benefits for companies in the asphalt pavement industry. To steer the conversation, they speak with Danny Macri of the Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR program, Bill Jerald, Chief Energy Engineer at CalPortland, and Matt Hinck, their Vice President of Government Affairs. Tune in to learn how ENERGY STAR can he...
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February 27, 2024 • 27 mins
In this episode of Pave It Black, we discuss how Balanced Mix Design (BMD) is implemented at an industry and agency level. To understand both perspectives, Richard and Brett talk to Derek Nener-Plante of the Federal Highway Administration’s Resource Center, and Steve Jackson of N.B. West Contracting. Listen to learn more about the agency and industry collaboration, how challenges are overcome, and NAPA’s role in supporting BMD impl...
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February 20, 2024 • 16 mins
In the Season Seven premiere episode of Pave It Black, Richard Willis and Brett Williams return with a live recording at NAPA's 2024 Annual Meeting from Orlando, Florida. Learn how the podcast got off the ground, revisit previous seasons, and hear about some of Richard and Brett's favorite moments. For Pave It Black's Seventh Season, Conversations from the Capital, Richard and Brett will facilitate conversations between industry le...
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June 5, 2023 • 30 mins
For the season 6 finale, we dig into how the Women of Asphalt organization continues to help bring awareness about the opportunities that abound in the asphalt industry. In this episode of Pave It Black, Richard and Brett talk with Sheila Barkevich, President of Women of Asphalt and Northeast Division Performance Manager at CRH Americas Materials about how she became involved with the Women of Asphalt and the numerous efforts that...
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May 23, 2023 • 31 mins
Proving out technologies and innovations in asphalt mixtures and pavements can be difficult when industry already expects our pavements to perform 20 years or more into the future. In this episode of Pave It Black, Richard and Brett talk with Randy West, Director of the National Center for Asphalt Technology at Auburn University about the research conducted at the test track and how that enables the asphalt industry and agencies t...
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May 8, 2023 • 15 mins
Brett and Richard talk with Andy Decraene of AJAX Paving of Florida about resilience. When Hurricane Ian hit Florida in 2022, AJAX was called on to rebuild the Sanibel Causeway within weeks after the disaster. Richard and Brett explore what resilience is with Andy and learn that it goes far beyond just infrastructure and begins with building resilient companies who take care of their people.
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April 24, 2023 • 22 mins
While asphalt pavements serve many uses ranging from nature paths to interstate highways, some of the heaviest loads asphalt pavements carry occur at airfield runways and taxiways. In this episode of Pave It Black, Richard and Brett talk with Navneet Garg of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about the research work he does at the William J Hughes Technical Center, the National Airport Pavement Test Facility (NAPTF), and th...
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April 10, 2023 • 17 mins
Ahead of National Work Zone Awareness Week, the hosts of Pave it Black dive into the Watch for Us campaign, and how member companies work to protect their staff as they maintain and construct our countries infrastructure. Richard and Brett talk with Emily Bay of Rieth-Riley Construction Co., Inc. about the role that communication plays in safety and how they share information with employees as well as the public. Emily shares some...
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March 27, 2023 • 14 mins
In this episode of Pave it Black, we discuss the Sheldon G. Hayes Award with representatives from the latest company to be honored with the award. Richard and Brett talk with Scott Roe, Michael Terry, Derik Huber, and Ryan Booth of Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. about what it takes to win the highest award as well as what the award means to the company and its staff. The team shares how communication plays a critical role in achi...
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