Asphalt Review

FROM THE CEO

Michael Caltabiano - CEO of AAPA

Michael Caltabiano - CEO of AAPAThe Australian Asphalt Pavement Association (AAPA) has an exciting and engaging agenda of technological breakthroughs, engagement and knowledge transfer ahead of it for 2015.

During the course of this year we will build on the successes of 2014 to reinforce the position of the Association as the thought leader in flexible pavements across Australia.

The pinnacle of our year as an Association will be the 2015 AAPA International Flexible Pavements Conference to be held on the Gold Coast from the 13–16 September. Innovation Delivering Value is the theme, and the conference will be the place to be for anyone involved in the flexible pavements.

International speakers from Europe, America, South East Asia and South Africa will join a talented team of Australia’s best from industry, academia, and state road authorities. For the first time, the conference will be run with two distinct parallel streams, Pavement Engineering and Construction, bringing the best of local and international practice for Australia.

AAPA is pleased to announce great support for the conference from Platimum Sponsors Caterpillar, SAMI Bitumen and Viva Energy. We would also like to recognise Puma Bitumen, Kraton Polymers and Protech who have all joined us as sponsors. Our speakers, sponsors and the tremendous encouragement and endorsement from State and Territory road agencies and local councils will make the Gold Coast conference a memorable and critical event for all involved in road construction and heavy duty pavements.

The AAPA Industry Breakfast series hosted by each of our State Branches will provide a real focal point for letting everyone in our industry know about the outcomes from the International Knowledge Transfer tour (IKT) to the USA. Completed in November last year, the tour was a great success and we are fortunate enough to have participants from the tour presenting some of the great benefits for Australian industry at the upcoming breakfasts.

There is a long list of key learnings from this outreach some of these are (i) the treatment of failing and poorly performing concrete pavements, (ii) thin overlays (design and construction methods), (iii) trackless tack coats, (iv) laboratory tools and techniques to better reflect field performance of bitumen seals and asphalt, (v) the use of crumbed rubber in either a refinery or field blended product with pavement design benefits, (vi) US research on community expectations for road function and performance (vii) Perpetual Pavements; full depth asphalt pavement design, performance and utilisation, (viii) new equipment innovation to deliver better quality outcomes in the delivery of high quality asphalt pavements.

To register to attend one of our breakfasts, please visit our new website
at www.aapa.asn.au/events and click on Branch & Social Events. The new website now makes event registration and access to the great training programs offered to our industry much easier and more informative.

Through this international outreach to the United States we have forged a new co-operative relationship with the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA). This relationship brings together the two largest Asphalt pavement associations in the world and provides access for AAPA Members to extensive research programs, new construction techniques and innovative equipment upgrades.

The future of our industry lies in our ability to innovate and continue to provide better value for money solutions to existing and new problems. Every state road authority is a member of AAPA and, as members, they are actively seeking industry engagement in the development of new co-operative outcomes that deliver this new era of innovative solutions.

We are entering an exciting period of change that will forge a new way of delivering infrastructure projects in Australia. AAPA is well positioned to be the portal through which this transition to a new model of delivery will be achieved.

Michael Caltabiano

AAPA CEO 

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