What did you do before joining Polyco?

I’ve been in and around the asphalt game for over 40 years now and over 20 in PG-TR development sales. I started my career way back in 1981 down in Southern California at an independent refining company that produced the complete gamut of petroleum products from fuels to asphalt. I didn’t like the tedious rotating shifts very much, so I went into the laboratory as a quality control tech for a year, testing aviation and automotive fuels, paving and roofing asphalts. I transferred to R&D for a more flexible schedule and went back to school. This role exposed me to all the nuances of the Dark Side of petroleum science — emulsions, rejuvenation agents, oxidized roofing asphalts, felt saturants, bunker fuels, printing inks and more.

I met Tom Nichols in Stockton, CA in the 1980s when I was marketing the base asphalt for modified roofing products there. Even then, Tom had big ideas and aspirations for entrepreneurial success. We kept in touch through the years, and in 2014, I joined AST as a consultant, helping to market and sell PG asphalt and SigmaBond in California, Arizona and Nevada.

What are you most excited about at Polyco?

The SigmaBond technology really intrigued me from the start. Many other TR startups promised everything but could not deliver the goods. It is exciting to see the innovation and new technologies we are developing. Unlike other rubber modification processes that degrade the properties and performance when adding more ground rubber, SigmaBond keeps improving the properties at higher rubber dosages. It’s a game-changer, truly unique, and that got me hooked. As pavement experts and academia have said, SigmaBond PG-TR is the future of TR asphalt binder specifications.

Why is sustainability at Polyco important?

 More and more states and agencies are looking to mandate high recycled rubber contents in their asphalt mixes for sustainability. With SigmaBond, we can finally give them those high rubber loads without compromising the pavement performance. That’s been the big issue holding the other technologies back.

Polyco is pioneering the future for higher recycled rubber contents and more sustainable asphalt mixes with SigmaBond. We’ve got a really remarkable opportunity to promote greater sustainability through more recycled rubber while also delivering better-performing asphalt pavements. Polyco has some awesome products, and I’m thrilled to be partnering with Polyco’s technical team to communicate the SigmaBond PG-TR benefits across the West.

What do you love to do outside of work?

While the asphalt industry has been my career passion for over 40 years now, my greatest joys come from life outside of work with my family. I’ve been blessed with a sweetheart of a wife, Lili, for 41 years and three months so far. We’ve got three of the best children and their spouses that you could ever wish for, and they’ve given us four beautiful grandkids. We’re lucky enough to live near the whole family, and watching those little ones grow up is a priceless gift. Though, I will say… It’s great to see their headlights coming up the driveway, but it’s also a relief to see the tail lights when they’re leaving. They certainly have a lot of energy!! Without a doubt, we’ve been blessed!

“Polyco is pioneering the future for higher recycled rubber contents and more sustainable asphalt mixes with SigmaBond.”