The new year brings a brand-new LEAP class for 2024-2025.  After the class inauguration at the 2024 AEMA-ISSA-ARRA Annual Meeting in Palm Harbor, FL, the first tour was held at the emulsion facility of Associated Asphalt, located in Tampa, FL on February 23^rd, 2024. The tour was graciously hosted by George Mariani III, Technical Services Leader (SC-FL), Mike Tyree, Technical Services Representative (SC-MD), and Katie McGuire, Lab Supervisor at the Tampa location.

The history of Associated Asphalt’s facilities in Tampa is closely entwined with that of Mariani Asphalt. So, the tour was kicked off by going back in time to Estavio Mariani (George Mariani III’s great grandfather), landing on Ellis Island from Italy as a 12-yr old and him starting Mariani Asphalt in 1947. Through continued leadership within the Mariani family, the business was then extended to supply asphalt binders and driveway sealers for pavement preservation. 

They increased their offerings through terminal/facility purchases in Tampa and grew their trucking fleet. Export business using bitumen containers, also known as bitutainers™, was another capability added to Mariani Asphalt’s offerings. In 2002, Mariani Asphalt constructed another terminal on 19^th Street in Tampa to produce polymer modified asphalt.  Eventually, Mariani Asphalt was sold to Associated Asphalt in 2007. In 2019, Mariani Asphalt was renamed Associated Asphalt. With the recent acquisition by Ergon in 2023, the company is now renamed Associated Asphalt, an Ergon Company.

Currently, Associated Asphalt in Tampa routinely supplies asphalt emulsions and binders for both DOT and non-DOT work across the state of Florida. With four commonly utilized asphalt emulsions consistently in stock, the Tampa plant can produce any type of asphalt emulsion. The emulsion storage capacity of the plant exceeds over 150,000 gallons spread across ten storage tanks. With the extent of their rail/shipping containers they can reach customers as far as the Caribbean islands through the ports of Tampa and Miami. One of the major projects undertaken last year was the two bitutainer™ shipments to the remote and isolated Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean. At their peak they can ship upwards of 18 million gallons of emulsion products out of just this one emulsion facility.

All of this great success wouldn’t be possible without a state-of-the-art lab facility. The Tampa lab is capable of processing anywhere from 10-15 PG binder samples per day.  In addition to utilizing this lab for emulsion product development, the Tampa plant also utilizes a lab scale emulsion mill followed by small scale plant production runs to finalize their formulations. This lab is just one of the three lab facilities operated by Associated Asphalt. Multiple lab facilities come in handy with all the different products and projects that are produced just from this one location. Thank you to Mike, George, Katie, and the Associated Asphalt facility in Tampa FL for their wonderful hospitality.