Osterland deals with all aspects of asphalt paving — from manufacture through placement — and when it comes to profiling, Osterland is a firm believer in CMI.
“We had a PR-450 and a PR-800-7 and we’ve just received two PR-800-7/12s,” explained Dean Alex, vice president of operations for Osterland. “We believe in getting the fastest speed possible and taking advantage of all the latest technological updates. We want to be the first guy in town with the most advanced equipment.”
Before Osterland buys a piece of equipment, a lot of research is undertaken into all the competitive brands. Performance combined with cutting edge technology is crucial to Osterland. So is service after the sale. “CMI has always been responsive to any problems we might have,” said Alex. “When you call CMI, you talk directly to someone who’s going to get you answers. I’ve never had a problem yet where CMI didn’t jump up to the plate.”
It is one thing to buy a piece of high-tech equipment. But unless your crew is trained to use it correctly, high tech can lead to big headaches from lack of knowledge. So, Osterland sent eight of its men to CMI’s profiling training school in Oklahoma City. “Our guys had quite an experience at the training school,” said Alex. “They came back with quite a bit of knowledge about the equipment, which paid off with a successful launch of this year’s milling business.”
The primary reason Osterland purchased two PR-800-7/12s was its need to do 12.5-ft. (3.8 m) cuts. It has several interstate projects lined up, and the added width should nearly halve its profiling time.
The first trial for the two new machines was a turnpike job. Osterland needed to remove 95,000 sq. yds. (79,430 sq m) of existing asphalt on two huge parking lots. During the six-day operation, the company used both machines with their 7-ft. (2.1 m) drums, cutting to a depth of 9 in. (22.9 cm). The last day, it switched one of the machines over to the 12.5-ft. (3.8 m) cutter to see how it would work.
“We tested out the wider drum at a 10-in. depth,” said Sean Peterson, one of the job leaders on the project. “At that depth it moved about 10 ft. a minute. [Note: A sheave change to lower the cutter speed would have substantially increased production at this depth.] Not bad for a first try at such a deep cut.” Added Dan Kuncel, the other job leader on the project, “We finally settled in at a 6-in. cut and the 12.5-ft. foot drum really moved. We really didn’t get to play much more with it that day, but the interstate job we’re currently working on is another story.”
The second project Kuncel referred to is the grind and pave nighttime project on Interstate 271. The stretch of highway is 7.5-mi. (12.1 km) long and both north and southbound lanes must be milled to a depth of 1.5 in. (3.8 cm). Each night, the crew only has a seven-hour window in which to work, maintaining a constant traffic flow on the highway, as well as on the ramps. Osterland mills the 10-ft. (3 m) shoulder first, then the three 12-ft. (3.7 m) lanes, leaving the middle express lane unobstructed. In one section, there is an added fourth lane. It must profile as well. Most sections are simple removal, with a few requiring some base repairs.
Kuncel’s crew has just 15 nights to mill the southbound lanes, including six ramps. Then Osterland’s paving crew moves in, laying down 1.5 in. (3.81 cm) of asphalt. After the southbound lanes are done, the PR-800-7/12 repeats the process on the northbound side. All told, Osterland is removing about 500,000 sq. yds. (418,000 sq m) of asphalt and laying down some 55,000 tons (49,894 t) of asphalt.
While Kuncel has been using the 12.5 cutter on his crew’s PR-800-7/12, Peterson’s milling team has been using the 7-ft. (2.13 m) drum on a number of residential applications in the Cleveland area. In asphalt, they’ve been averaging about 95 ft. (29 m) a minute at a 2.5- to 3-in. (6.35 to 7.62 cm) depth.
“The kicker, of course, is that we can do both 12.5- and 7-ft. jobs with one machine,” said Peterson. “It would be foolish to buy just a 12-ft. machine because there are a limited number of places where you can use the wider drum. So two drums make it a very versatile machine. The cutters are easy to change out. In three and a half hours, you’ve made the switch.
“Permitting is another issue,” Peterson added. “In Ohio, it is hard to permit loads and having one machine that can do both widths saves a lot of hassles.”
Alex summed up Osterland’s experiences with its two PR-800-7/12s by saying, “We’re excited at the capabilities of these machines. It’s a whole new game for us.”
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