Power Curbers & Power Pavers is a family-owned US manufacturer of slipform concrete paving equipment. Established in 1953, the company produces curb and gutter machines and concrete road paving equipment. Power Curbers Companies is a global provider with machines in over 100 countries.
Slipforming is a process that involves taking wet concrete delivered to a job site and placing it in the desired location and shape. You can think about it like a tube of toothpaste. If you carefully squeeze the tube as you move it across a surface, it will leave behind a uniform bead.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Power Curbers: Power Curbers Companies is tightly focused on slipform concrete paving, but as a result we are market leaders and industry experts. We drive our sector forward by using the latest technology advancements and by listening to customer feedback.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
Power Curbers: We announced our new ConnectSmart Telematics solution at World of Concrete 2022 in Las Vegas. It offers a variety of fleet management tools bringing more visibility to slipforming contractors. Companies can monitor their Power Curbers & Power Pavers equipment on a real-time dashboard accessible with a web browser or app on mobile devices.
The dashboard enables fleet managers to monitor the live location of machinery across the globe. Specific areas like job sites, storage yards, or service areas may be “geofenced” to send immediate alerts if the unit isn’t where it should be.
The equipment’s current status is always visible, so contractors know whether their machine is running, parked, or in transit. ConnectSmart Telematics also displays and tracks when the vibrators are on or off in real-time. That is critical for slipformers as it allows them to analyze when their unit is idling versus pouring. Managing idle time is essential for maximizing fleet efficiency and sustainability through reduced fuel consumption and lowered emissions.
Maintenance is more manageable, too. Companies can remotely monitor equipment’s hours to uphold appropriate service intervals and see live engine outputs through the dashboard. These outputs include fault codes to aid with troubleshooting and repairs.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
Power Curbers: Our most popular models include:
150 Extruder – Our smallest machine which extrudes asphalt or concrete curb onto existing pavement with a maximum profile of 30 cm x 30 cm.
5700-D – The number one selling slipform machine in the world. The newest generation of the 5700 Series excels at a number of applications including curb & gutter, barrier walls, sidewalks, ditch liners, and custom uses. It’s simplicity, flexibility, and 3D machine control integration ensure that it meets your requirements. The new SlipSmart Control System makes it our most responsive generation yet.
7700 Multipurpose Slipform Machine – The 7700 is suited for large, offset slipforming applications and paving up to 7.6 m wide in the standard paving position. Features include a hydraulic telescoping frame to max paving width, Simple Steer track positioning system, and 3D machine control integration.
SF-1700, and SF-2700 – With our two-track slipform pavers, you can pave a broad range of widths. SF-1700: 3 – 7.5 m up to 40 cm deep. SF-2700: 3.5 -10 m up to 40 cm deep. Optional features include integral curbs on one or both sides, and 3D machine control integration.
SF-2404 – The four-track SF-2404 is the ideal solution for city streets, highways, and airport paving projects. Its telescoping frame allows simple width adjustment from 2.5 – 6 m and extensions enable paving up to 7.5 m wide. Other features include Simple Steer track positioning, 3D machine control integration, and walk-through wraparound operator’s platform.
TC-2700 – Our texture/curing machine is your choice for smooth, straight grooves and consistently sprayed curing compound. The working range is from 3.65 to 9.75 m wide for slabs up to 60 cm thick.
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
Power Curbers: The slipform concrete paving industry has been around a long time. Power Curbers designed and built the very first powered curb machine in the world back in 1953. Since then, the benefits of slipforming concrete roads and other structures like curb and barrier walls have spread around the world. Now our products are at work in over 100 countries doing a variety of infrastructure and development work.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
Power Curbers: There are two major trends in our market right now, sustainability and labor.
We’re making progress on countless fronts to be more sustainable. From cleaner-running engines, to manufacturing process improvements. But, the most significant development is with concrete itself. Concrete is a relatively green material to begin with. It lasts much longer than most alternative materials, meaning fewer rebuild cycles. It can be sourced locally throughout much of the world, resulting in fewer transport emissions.
The “dirtiest” step in making concrete is creating the ingredient, cement. During production, cement has to be baked at incredibly hot temperatures requiring fuel. Recent research into concrete formulas let us use less cement. Small percentages of additives like fly ash or slag which are waste byproducts from the coal and steel industries can dilute the cement portion without affecting the concrete’s strength.
In the USA, labor in the construction market is a major challenge. There are hundreds of thousands of open positions without any clear paths towards filling them. Contractors are leaning on manufacturers to develop equipment that helps them use their limited workers more efficiently. We’ve added numerous tools to our equipment that minimize manual tasks. The most significant is 3D/Stringless machine control. Traditionally, slipform machines are guided by a stringline set up on jobsites ahead of time. Stringline is positioned using stakes and rods that are manually-intensive to install. 3D/Stringless control replaces the stringline with a digital model and survey equipment eliminating many labor bottlenecks.
E.E: What estimations do you have for 2022?
Power Curbers: The market for slipform concrete pavers has been negatively affected by the pandemic. Internationally, developing markets with an abundance of planned roadbuilding have been the hardest hit by Covid.
Fortunately, things are getting better. Developing countries’ access to the vaccines are increasing and they are getting back to work. And now that the US infrastructure bill has been signed into law, transportation jobs will begin design and bidding phases. I expect that slipform paving will gradually increase over 2022 and reach pre-pandemic levels some time in 2023.
