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Pennsylvania’s Norwin Stays True-Blue to Blaw-Knox

Wed October 11, 2000 - Northeast Edition
Construction Equipment Guide


Several things influence Norwin Construction Co.’s decision as where to use what paver. Probably the most important factor is to try to match the production capacity of the paver vs. the production required to complete the project in a timely and profitable manner. According to Peter R. Broeren, president, Norwin Construction, Irwin, PA. He went on to say that he also has to consider the size of the area, and crew’s ability. These are some of the factors Broeren considered when he purchased three of the new series of Blaw-Knox pavers — a PF-3200, a PF-5510, and a brand new PF-4410 with an 8-ft. (2.4 m) wide OmniScreed IA. The company also owns a PF-510 and an old PF-65. Five pavers in all, and all in operating condition.

“Paver utilization also depends on the job,” said Broeren. “Is it a $5,000 parking lot or a $15-million PennDOT project? We have done both and are not without competition here. It appears that just about everyone in western Pennsylvania wants to be in the hot mix asphalt business. This, of course, forces us to be very creative to maintain our position in the industry. That is even more so if we are to move up a notch or two.”

“Several of the ways that we address this problem are, first, to meet them head on. By this I mean always doing high quality work no matter how large or how small the project. If a job that we take is worth doing, it is worth doing right the first time through. Automatically this centers on two factors, men and machines. That’s part of our reasoning regarding the purchase of the new Blaw-Knox PF-4410.”

The paver has six-cylinder Cummins “Elite” series 145-hp (108 kW) engine. With the steep hill sections, “We feel the new machine has more than enough horsepower to help push a truck or pave up a steep grade,” said Broeren.

“We are fortunate in that we have a very loyal work force. As most asphalt contractors do in our area, we scale back in size in the winter, at the end of the paving season. We treat each worker with respect, fairness and opportunity. I believe that because of this our percentage of returning workmen is higher than some of our competition. One of the reasons for this, other than the way we treat each person as an individual, is that we try to provide them with the best equipment there is. This helps make their jobs as easy as possible.

Doing the Work

Norwin Construction Co. normally has two full time asphalt laydown crews with the capability of adding a third, fourth or fifth crew when the occasion demands, as it often does. They serve a seven county area in western Pennsylvania including Butler, Armstrong, Indiana, Washington, Westmoreland, Green and Allegheny. The company also works in and for the city of Pittsburgh.

A typical high profile project for Norwin would be at the Penntowne Plantation. Here, in a new residential hillside development, the crew with the Blaw-Knox PF-4410 paver put down between 500 and 600 tons (450 and 540 t) of 1.5-in. ( 3.8 cm) thick wearing surface mix a day.

They had previously done the binder course during the initial development construction. The machine was set to pull 12.5 to 13 ft. (3.8 to 4 m) wide to accommodate the 24-ft. (7 m) wide streets. It was fortunate that the job was laid out so that the crews could pull the horizontal streets on the level, and the parallel streets from the top down. The screed gate is equipped with a contractor made elevated raised curb extension to meet the new sidewalks.

Another interesting project that Norwin has is a contract with the city of Pittsburgh to supply a paver and crew to help resurface city streets. Material is supplied by the city from its own asphalt plant. Crews use the PF-3200 for about 120 days a year during which time the crew puts down and compacts between 400 and 500 tons (360 and 450 t) a day.

(The preceding article appears courtesy of the Blaw-Knox Operating Strategy Report.)




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