Pave It Black: The Official Podcast of NAPA

Season 4 of Pave It Black, NAPA’s official podcast, dives into the construction field operations and the men and women constructing our roads and highways. In this episode, hosts Richard Willis and Brett Williams talk with guest Dave Beeching of Michigan Paving & Materials Company about his 39 years of experience in the asphalt industry and his career path into his current role managing field oper...

In this episode of Pave It Black, our season of opportunity continues with a discussion about marketing, business opportunities, and the pursuits of improving, growing, and making our businesses better and more profitable. Richard and Brett talk with Jeani Ringkob, of StoryBuilt Marketing and Consulting about her experience growing up in the asphalt industry and how that has led her into consultin...

In this episode of Pave It Black, our season of opportunity continues with a discussion about environmental compliance and how compliance officers work to protect the communities they serve. Richard and Brett talk with Bob Beyke of Milestone Contractors about his experience as the company's manager of environmental affairs and learn about his role and journey in the asphalt industry. Sponsored by...

In the Season 4 premiere of Pave It Black, the season of opportunity starts off by exploring safety with a discussion that ventures into methods of successfully engraining safety in the company’s culture, all the way to skills companies may seek out when hiring a safety manager. Richard and Brett talk with Candy Klingensmith, of the Knife River Midwest about her experience as the company's safety...

Season 3 of Pave it Black concludes with a discussion on drone technologies and how drones are used today as well as where the technology may take us tomorrow. Richard and Brett talk with Carl Pittman, of APAC Mississippi and Jessica Lewis, a graduate student at Mississippi State University about areas where drones are being utilized in construction along with some of the considerations with using...

“The Dynamics of Asphalt Plant Management”In this episode of Pave It Black, our season continues to explore technologies with a discussion on how software may help with some of the challenges an asphalt plant operation faces with keeping all the balls in the air from current work, upcoming work, different customers, suppliers, materials, testing, maintenance, and all of the communication that is r...

In the latest episode of Pave It Black, Brett and Richard talk with Mike Wills of Granite Construction about trucking and fleet management technology. While fleet management technologies continue to grow in utilization by the industry, we look to gain a perspective on how the technologies can help contractors efficiently deliver high-quality asphalt pavements as well as ideas for how the technolog...

In this special episode of Pave It Black for National Work Zone Awareness week, our season continues to feature technology with a discussion on how robots can be employed to move workers out of higher risk locations and also improve task efficiency. With guest Todd Hendricks Jr. of Pioneer Industrial Systems. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brett and Richard talk with Dan Ganoe of Lindy Paving about the implementation of e-ticketing and what it takes to move to a paperless world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brett and Richard talk with Brent Carron of Valley Paving about thermal profiling. While this tool is not widespread throughout the industry, it is potentially another opportunity for contractors to ensure high quality asphalt pavements. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Contractors have access to more data about their companies now more than ever before. But how many of them are using this data effectively? Brett and Richard along with Dan Ridolfi of Lastrada Partners explore how data analytics can change the asphalt industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brett and Richard chat with Katie Peabody from Lakeside Industries about the opportunities available for construction companies to leverage new programs, communications tools, and streamlined software. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Richard and Brett talk with Dan Gallagher about the impacts vehicle electrification could have not only the asphalt industry but also how it could be impacting the revenue of the Highway Trust Fund. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nick Webb, the keynote speaker from NAPA’s 2020 Annual Meeting in Maui, discusses common misunderstandings about innovation and how to develop an innovative spirit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NAPA partnered with Georgia State University to give Public Relations/Journalism students an opportunity to learn about the asphalt industry. In Pave It Black’s season 2 finale, we talk with a GSU professor and two students about how the asphalt industry went from something they didn’t know existed to an industry they respected. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan Stys, P.E., of the PEA Group, an integrated site development firm with a specialty in test track design, explains why asphalt is predominantly selected for automotive testing facilities and racetracks. Reasons include asphalt’s smoothness, economical cost to build, speed of construction, and ability to fine tune asphalt mixtures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Lum, Technical Director at Colas Inc., talks about the different types of plastics, the wet and dry processes of introducing recycled plastics into asphalt pavement mixtures, worker safety, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pat Nelson, President & CEO of Lehman-Roberts Co. in Memphis, Tenn., dives into the details of some very intentional workforce development changes that are happening at his company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the wake of the “silver tsunami,” who will lead the next generation of asphalt plants and businesses? Buddy Hobart, President & CEO of Solutions 21, expert on the multi-generational workforce, and author of “The Leadership Decade: A Playbook for an Extraordinary Era,” explains the importance of company leaders having a knowledge transfer strategy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

How does one go from a career in music to a career in asphalt? The answer, for Janie Gallagher, Marketing and Events Coordinator at Wirtgen America in Nashville, Tenn., is the asphalt pavement industry's commitment to sustainability Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Laura Perrotta, President & CEO of the American Highway Users Alliance, and NAPA’s Jay Hansen, Executive Vice President for Advocacy, break down the inner workings of Capitol Hill and the effects on highway funding. They provide an outlook on what needs to happen before and after the FAST Act expires on Sept. 30. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brian Fraley of Fraley Construction Marketing explains why marketing is important in a low-bid environment. Learn why complacency is the enemy of progress, especially in the age of Google. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s not often you hear someone in the asphalt industry quoting Mike Tyson, but when discussing the topic of resilience, it just fits. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Season two of "Pave It Black," the official NAPA podcast, opens with our interview with Valerie Echter, a freelance social media strategist and content creator for the construction, asphalt, and engineering sectors. Echter shares the main mistakes industry makes on social media and offers easy tips to help companies build brand authority, increase engagement, attract employees, and grow sales reve...

A 30-plus-year industry veteran, Craig Parker, President at Silver Star Construction Co. Inc., has a keen perspective on what he sees as industry game changers. He is particularly excited about balanced mix design. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.