ISSA’s First-Ever Virtual Slurry Systems Workshop Draws Nearly a 1000 Registered Attendees

For the first-time ever, the International Slurry Surfacing Association (ISSA) held its annual Slurry Systems Workshop virtually, January 19-21, 2021 and drew in 717 government agency attendees, 203 ISSA Members, and 63 non-members.

The decision to hold the Workshop virtually was a difficult one, but Program Chair Chuck Ingram and Co-Chair Stephanie Stewart worked hard to bring the in-person Workshop to the desks of the attendees without excluding any important training. Over the course of the 3-day Workshop, attendees were able to participate in live presentations, meet with exhibitors via Zoom, and join a Networking Event each day.

To kick-off the Workshop, Ingram and ISSA President Larry Tomkins welcomed everyone and gave a general update on ISSA. Attendees then heard from the 2020 President’s Award Winner, Matt Ferguson, VSS, sharing their work on the Pacific Coast Highway. Attendees next heard from Trent Gofers, McAsphalt Industries, on why pavement preservation matters. Roman Benedyuk, VSS International Inc., shared information on jobsite safety for ISSA treatments. Additional presentations included an introduction on micro surfacing and slurry seal by Kevin Harris of Intermountain Slurry Seal; an introduction on chip seal and seal coat treatments from Stan Williams of Ergon Asphalt & Emulsion; and an introduction to crack fill treatments by James Clark of Crafco, Inc.

Every year, many attendees look forward to the equipment showcase and live demo. Ingram and Stewart knew this was something that needed to be included in a virtual setting. Bergkamp Inc, Crafco, Inc, Etynre International, Rayner Equipment Systems, Secmair, Tymco, and VSS Macropaver each provided short videos showcasing their equipment. This gave attendees an up-close view,as well as a different way to experience the showcase and demo.

Wednesday started with a presentation on Roadresource.org by Stan Williams and Matt Jeffers, both Roadresouce.org Super Users, from Ergon Asphalt and Emulsion. Wednesday then shifted its focus to the Breakout Sessions. Attendees had the option to follow an entire Breakout Session Track or attend a combination of sessions from any of the Breakout Sessions offered. ISSA’s four main treatments were covered in three Breakout Sessions that included: Micro Surfacing & Slurry Seal, presented by Tim Harrawood, Vance Brothers, and Dave Kiser, Strawser Construction; Chip Seal & Fog Seal, presented by Larry Tomkins, Ergon Asphalt & Emulsion, and Jason Lampley, Doolittle Construction LLC; and Crack Fill Treatments presented by Bryan Darling and Brandi Julian of Crafco, Inc.

Attendees were also able to attend the Inspection Breakout Session which included an inspection on chip seals, presented by Doug Olsen, Western Emulsions, micro surfacing, presented by Brad Pearce, Viking Construction, and Crack Seals, presented by Rick Stone of Maxwell Products. The Technical Breakout Session included a presentation by Vince Vopat, Bergkamp Inc, on the basics of asphalt emulsion; mix designs and material testing by Sallie Houston, VSSI; formulation and testing of spray seals by Trey Jordan, Paragon Technical Services, Inc.; polymers for asphalt emulsion modification by Barry Baughman, ULTRAPAVE; full gradation slurry and micro WTAT, Debbi Deep, Ingevity; and lastly Todd Shields of INDOT presented a case study on a chip seal failure. The final Breakout Session attendees could join was the Advance Track. Topics included a presentation on workforce development, from Gary Houston of Valero Refining Company; micro cure time verse surface temp by Arlis Kadrmas, BASF; NCAT Field Testing, Adriana Vargas-Nordcbeck, NCAT; complete project management, Ryan Fisher, Slurry Pavers; a presentation from John Senger of IDOT on how Illinois fixed micro issues; a presentation from John Livsey, Town of Lexington, MA, and Dan Patenaude, indus, on Lexington, MA winning the 2020 James B. Sorenson Award; and lastly Katrina Lynch, Doolittle Construction, Pierre Peltier, Strawser Construction, and Alek Vance, Vance Brothers, provided a panel discussion on the effects of COVID on contractors.

To start off on Thursday, attendees heard from Jamie Wing, Ingevity, and Joe Brandenburg, Nouryon, co-chairs of ISSA’s Leadership Development Team. They provided an update on the team’s initiatives and explained how ISSA members can get more involved. Next, attendees heard from industry partners. This included updates from Judith Corley-Lay with NCPP, Antonio Nieves with FHWA, Buzz Powell with NCAT, and Colin Franco with the Emulsion Task Force.

Attendees then had the chance to attend four different Group Sessions. These included Randy Tattershall’s, Rayner Equipment Systems, session on slurry and micro calibration and record keeping, Bryan Horner’s, Etnyre International, session on distributor and chip spreader operation and calibration; and a session on slurry and micro mix design and troubleshooting presented by Pat Denney, Arkema- Road Science, and Tim O’Connell and Rich Wenthe of Ingevity. Lastly, attendees could attend the Mix Design Session which included five different short sessions. Topics and presenters included slurry seal by Ty Hughes, Paragon Technical Services, Inc.; micro surfacing by Jamie Wing and Ben Yadon, Ingevity; Laboratory Equipment by Vince Vopat, Bergkamp Inc; chip seal by George Peterson, Garco Testing Laboratories; and crack seal by Jim Allison, McAsphalt Industries.

The Virtual Slurry Systems Workshop would not have been made possible without the continued support from its sponsors. Thank you Bergkamp Inc, Ergon Asphalt & Emulsion, ViaSun Corporation, and VSS Macropaver for your Virtual Platform Sponsorships. The attendees Care Packages were sponsored by McAsphalt Industries Limited. The Coffee On Us sponsors included BASF, Crafco, Inc, and Ingevity. The General Sponsors included Arkema-Road Science, Bergkamp Inc, BearCat Manufacturing, Etnyre International, FORTA, Geneva Rock, Nouryon, Paragon Technical Services, Inc., Rayner Equipment Systems, Secmair, Slurry Pavers, Inc. Southwest Slurry Seal, Inc., StreetSaver, Tymco, and ULTRAPAVE. Thank you again!

ISSA would also like the thank the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for their continued support of the Slurry Systems Workshop. FHWA sponsored 400 state DOTs to attend the Virtual Slurry Systems Workshop.

As ISSA looks to the future, the planning for the 2022 Slurry Systems Workshop has already started. Mark your calendars today for January 17-20, 2022 in Las Vegas, NV.