The paving crew from Northeast Paving has this section of railroad bed in Tonawanda, N.Y., stoned and prepared for paving.
Northeast Paving, a paving and site work contractor located in Lancaster, N.Y., has been serving Buffalo and western New York since 1980. The company offers a wide variety of services, including residential and commercial paving, asphalt sealing and maintenance, site work, landscaping, utility work, demolition, and in the winter ice control and snow removal.
Owner and founder of the company Lee Cadby started the company with a single dump truck and over the years he has built an organization that is recognized as being among the top commercial paving and snow removal contractors in Buffalo.
Prior to starting Northeast Paving, Cadby had spent a number of years working as an equipment operator at County Line Stone in Akron, N.Y.
“I guess I had worked as an operator long enough and County Line Stone was a great company to work for, but I got the itch and I wanted to do something on my own. With the help of my brother-in-laws, I started paving residential driveways on evenings and weekends. In 1980, I bought a truck and started a trucking business. Trucking did not provide the business model that I was looking for and I expanded the company into paving. Thirty-six years later here we are.”
Northeast Paving has grown into a substantial company that now tackles projects far more significant than a residential driveway, although it still does that, too. It is currently working on the Tonawanda New York Rails to Trails Program, which involves converting 4 mi. (6.4 km) of railroad bed to a paved walking and biking trail. The company also has completed the site work for major construction projects including school systems. The Grand Island School System is one such project that was a three-year project from start to finish at a cost of $4.3 million.
In the process of working with schools, it has found a successful niche in the construction of athletic fields, in particular running tracks.
“Education facilities are very particular about their running tracks. They need a very precise construction with a 1-percent slope for water runoff and a special coating across the asphalt. We have developed a reputation in this area and its good business for us,” said Cadby.
Northeast Paving also has worked for the Dunkirk Airport (N.Y.), the Lancaster Airport (N.Y.), and it has completed paving contracts for various municipal entities, including reconstruction/mill and pave projects. Cadby's brother heads up the asphalt maintenance division, which addresses crack filling, resealing and line painting.
Asphalt maintenance and snow removal contracts for companies as large as Railroads' 600-acre site and Freight's distribution center are among its clients, as well as Tires' manufacturing facilities.
The company has grown to more than 30 employees with a significant fleet of equipment that includes a large fleet of loaders and skid steers to fulfill snow removal contract, excavating equipment, milling machines, and of course pavers and asphalt rollers.
Coming into 2015, Northeast Paving was operating two pavers and Cadby decided it was time to add to that fleet.
“We typically get about 10 years out of a paver and that's part of the reason we decided to make a purchase, but I also felt it was time to make a move that would help us improve the quality of our finished product. To do that we needed to look at pavers that included more of the bells and whistles than what our current machines had to offer.
“As a part of this process, we approached what we considered to be the dealers of the major paving lines. We started conversations with Monroe Tractor, who was not a supplier that we would have traditionally considered a major player in asphalt. We had done business with them in the past, including the purchase of some skid steers, a dirt roller and a LeeBoy tack coat machine.
“Several years ago Monroe Tractor added the Wirtgen Group to the manufacturers that they represent and when we were in the market for a milling machine we knew that they were the people to talk to. We ended up purchasing a Wirtgen W120, which has more than exceeded our expectations. The machine is extremely engineered, gives us great production levels, and is easy for our operators to learn. We've received tremendous support from Monroe Tractor and parts have been readily available.”
Vogele, the asphalt paver manufactured by Wirtgen, was somewhat of a new name to Northeast Paving, but after reviewing all of its options, the company purchased a Vogele 5100-2 tracked paver with a VF500 screed.
“The purchasing process with Monroe Tractor was certainly a pleasant experience. They brought in their team in the dead of winter to their headquarters in Henrietta, N.Y., where they had set up the paver we were interested in buying in their heated shop with all of the specified attachments in place just as if the machine was about to go out on a job. Chuck Cottone, Monroe Tractor's Wirtgen product specialist and Scott Erb, Monroe Tractor's Wirtgen division manager, as well as my Monroe Tractor sales rep. Steve Muhleman, were on hand to take us through the machine. They provided us with a classroom type seminar that discussed the advantages on the inner workings of the Vogele as well as giving us a hands-on walk-thru demonstration of the machine. I was very impressed with the entire process.”
The Vogele included all of the features that Cadby was looking for, including an electric heated screed, automatic grade and slope control and a 40 ft. (12 m) averaging beam. It also included a track drive system, which Cadby was unsure about.
“We had never owned a tracked machine. My theory had always been that if you need tracks to pave then you have no business being there. However, we had run into a situation the previous year when we worked with a permeable based pavement that allows water to drain through it and we got stuck. We realized that in that situation and possibly in others we really did need to be looking at a tracked machine. Obviously, we ended up purchasing the Vogele machine from Monroe Tractor and we have been more than satisfied. The mat is perfect and I've never been able to say that before. Chuck Cottone with Monroe Tractor made the process seamless. He spent more than an adequate amount of time in training our personnel on the operation of the machine and he has come through any time we have needed support.”
Northeast Paving was so pleased with the Wirtgen milling machine and Vogele paver, in addition to the product knowledge and support provided by the paving specialist team at Monroe Tractor, that it also purchased a Hamm HD14 VV double drum asphalt roller with a 55-in. (140 cm) drum.
“The roller that we replaced was simply not getting the job done and we were not reaching proper compaction levels when we should be. Reaching proper compaction levels in our type of paving is more important than ever before. Airports are very demanding when it comes to compaction and in some of our jobs performance levels must be met in order for us to get paid. The visibility [on the Hamm HD14 VV] is tremendous and the offset drums have proven to be effective. It has great ease of operation and is much quieter than our other rollers, which these days come to play in sensitive environments such as paving for hospitals.”
Monroe Tractor
For nearly a decade Monroe Tractor has been a leader in western New York's small paving market with the LeeBoy account. According to Scott Erb, Monroe Tractor's Wirtgen division manager, “With the resources and product offering given to us by the Wirtgen Group, we are now honing in our focus on the commercial paving market. Wirtgen milling machines, Vogele pavers, Hamm rollers and Kleeman aggregate products are all German engineered and manufactured and are arguably the finest brands in their respective markets in the world.
“At Monroe Tractor we have put together a team of specialists who can properly represent and support these products to western New York's paving contractors and aggregate producers. Chuck Cottone, our product specialist, has received specialized training at Wirtgen's U.S. headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, which he, in turn, has been sharing with our sales staff and our parts representatives. Monroe Tractor has always taken good care of their customers. Paving is all about support and we have developed a specific product support focus to protect the tremendous investment that our customers are making in the Wirtgen products.”
Sales Specialist Tom Rizzo was added to the team in April to focus on Wirtgen products in Buffalo and Rochester. He has helped out with training and start up over the summer.
For more information about Monroe Tractor, visit www.monroetractor.com.
For more information about Northeast Paving, visit www.northeastpaving.com.
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