Record heat this summer and fall, coupled with a wet spring earlier this year, has led to a slow down in production at the Chattanooga-based asphalt-equipment maker Roadtec.
"The fall is traditionally a slower period, and even more so this year," said Jim Smith, who is continuous improvement coordinator for the asphalt paving equipment company that's a subsidiary of Astec Industries.
In addition to weather, the hot economy and job market are occasionally troubling the company when it comes to its workforce, said Tim Lewis, vice president of operations at Roadtec, which on Friday hosted Manufacturing Day at its Manufacturers Road assembly plant.
Lewis said the company, which employs over 500 employees and is one Astec Industries' largest subsidiaries, works with the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement and Hamilton County Schools to help with prospective employees.
Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke said the city has a workforce development office which helps companies.
ABOUT ROADTEC
* Astec Industries subsidiary is an asphalt-equipment maker* Manufacturers Road plant has 216,000 square feet of production space* Company employs more than 500 people* Plant opened in 1990; expanded four timesSource: Roadtec
"Roadtec is an important employer," he said. "It provides a middle class with living-wage jobs."
Smith said the nationwide wet spring delayed contractors from getting into the field to work on their paving jobs.
"When they did, they went full bore," he said.
Also, the weather has stayed hot, proving to be "good paving weather," Smith said.
As contractors are paving later in the year, they're not focused on ordering future equipment, prompting the slow down this fall at Roadtec.
Smith said the plant has cut work hours in recent weeks to take some production out of the plant, and he believes Roadtec competitors are experiencing the same sort of year.
But, he added, the factory is "coming on the fringe of where things start to pick up a little bit. We're starting to see upticks in customers."
Lewis said the Chattanooga plant typically produces from 300 to 400 units annually. Depending on the type and options, units range from $350,000 to $1.4 million each, he said.
Assembly of each machine takes from 20 to 25 days, he said.
Ray Mitchell, a manufacturing supervisor, said Roadtec "starts from the ground up on all our machines."
"As everything gets more technical in real life, it does in manufacturing, too," he said.
In July, Astec Industries hired a veteran manager of the fabricated metal products maker Valmont Industries and the road infrastructure supplier Lindsay Corp. as its new CEO.
Barry Ruffalo became president and chief executive on Aug. 12. Ruffalo, who served as a group vice president at the $2.5 billion-a-year Valmont Industries for the past 13 years, fills the vacancy created in January when former CEO Ben Brock, the son of company founder J. Don Brock, resigned after heading Astec for five years.
Astec, founded in Chattanooga in 1972, employs more than 1,600 people, according to the Chamber. It manufactures equipment for road building, aggregate processing, oil, gas and water well drilling and wood processing, among others, making more than 260 products.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.