Citymart Presentation for LLGA 2013

The Top Hat Riser from Abart Industries is an innovative product to be used before or after the paving process, that offers a cure for castings.

Made from 100% recycled tire rubber, this cost effective, environmentally friendly and quick installing solution eliminates reconstruction, conserves strained budget dollars, seals against unwanted storm water and provides a safe, smooth, and quiet road surface for cars and cyclists alike.

Green friendly, cost effective, durable, and easy on vehicles, the Top Hat Riser truly is a remarkable solution. Having already provided safer, smoother roads from New York to Oregon, it is no surprise that more people are saying, “Top Hat Risers just make sense.”

Title:

Top Hat Manhole Cover Riser

Subtitle:

Solutions for Smoother Roads

Summary:

The Top Hat Riser from Abart Industries is an innovative product to be used before or after the paving process, that offers a cure for castings.

The Top Hat Riser….

…is made from 100% recycled tire rubber, making use of an environmental burden
…is guaranteed for durability and longevity. Top Hat Risers have a habit of outlasting the pavement surrounding them!
…is installed in less than 30 minutes. Making lane closures and traffic jams due to manhole adjustments a thing of the past!
…saves up to 80% in manhole adjustment costs
…can be used as a short or long term solution
…is easier on vehicles and provides safe, level roadways for any community!

Presentation:

Problem:

Low and uneven manholes are a dangerous problem for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians; the issue is only worsening as time passes. When paving a street, manholes must be adjusted to meet the new grade of the road. When manholes are not adjusted they become a liability. These uneven sections of the road can be hard to recognize in time, causing accidents that lead to expensive repair bills, insurance hikes, bodily injury, or, even death. How can we avoid these negative consequences? Traditional methods for repairing low and uneven manholes have proven effective, but they are time consuming, labor intensive, require heavy machinery, and cause frustrating lane closures that bring everyone’s day to a halt. There has to be a better way.

Meanwhile, the world deals with an environmental crisis made worse by the issue of rubber tire disposal. This rubber, known for its durability, is not biodegradable and burning the tires, as has been attempted in the past, produces harmful fumes that hurt our atmosphere and ourselves. Landfills have become overrun with these tires, and tire yards have become a serious burden. In America alone, there are over 275 million scrap tires in stockpiles across the country. Some areas have found success in recycling tires in a way that allows them to be re-purposed for other uses, such as playground equipment. It is this type of forward thinking that led us to develop the “Top Hat Riser.”

Solution:

Introducing the Top Hat Riser from Abart Industries. An innovative and green friendly solution that solves both problems in one forward thinking product (and fixes a few other problems along the way). Constructed from 100% recycled tire rubber, the Top Hat Riser will be beneficial to towns, cities and countries worldwide as it can be customized to fit any existing manhole structure and range from 3/4 to 2 1/2 inches in thickness. The Top Hat Riser, itself, is a durable “hat” that attaches to an existing low manhole and brings the grade flush with the road. It is attached to the existing manhole structure in a way that is not only quick and cost effective, but provides a seal that helps to keep out unwanted storm water.

With a long track record of successful installations across New York State and in Oregon, the Top Hat Riser has proven its value to communities many times over. According to Richard Ferrel, former Assistant Superintendent of Streets and Facilities in Ithaca, NY, “”Installation time was considerably less than that of raising utility cover frames to grade and we had no failure rate compared to our experience in using riser rings between frames and covers.” Simply put, the Top Hat Riser is more environmentally beneficial, less expensive, more durable, and faster installed than existing methods for adjusting low manholes and it is the perfect innovation for any community.

Impact on Economy:

Considering our tense global climate, the economic advantages of the Top Hat Riser are a sight for sore eyes. Providing financial benefits in both labor and material cost, we have found that installation of a Top Hat Riser can save up to 80% over the traditional methods used to adjust low manholes. These conventional processes use brick and mortar and require lengthy lane closures and traffic control. This may take up to 4-6 hours per manhole adjustment and can cost up to $2,000 due to heavy labor costs. The Top Hat Riser, in contrast, is measured and customized for it’s final destination before it ever reaches the installation site. This allows for an installation process that is proven durable and can be completed in less than 30 minutes – no heavy labor costs are required.

Furthermore, we must consider the financial implications that Top Hat Risers have on the existing tire disposal areas. These facilities cost a great deal to maintain, and the pollution and damage created by incidents involving discarded tires, when they happen, leads to health and environmental issues that require funding to repair. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.gov/wastes/conserve/materials/tires/fires.htm), $3.5 million was allotted to repair the damages caused by a tire fire that occurred in California in 1999 – the fire was started because a pile was struck by lightning.

Impact on Culture:

Culturally speaking, the Top Hat Riser will have an impact globally, as it will signify a trend towards recycling to solve current issues, but it will also impact people on a personal level – by relieving some of the stress associated with driving. The traffic jams caused by lane closures due to manhole adjustments, and the damage caused to one’s vehicle by low manholes are all points of stress that will be lessened by the implementation of Top Hat Risers across the world. By offering a faster, cost effective option for manhole adjustment, communities will find it easier to repair these dangerous uneven manholes.

More importantly, however, is the global focus on forward thinking, innovative ideas to solve current problems. Rather than producing a new product, that may become an environmental burden in the future, to solve the issue of low manholes, we are re-purposing a valuable resource that already exists in surplus.

Having Top Hat Risers installed on streets throughout the globe will serve as a constant reminder to those driving, walking and cycling on those roads that this type of thinking – the type that places recycling above creation of a new product – should inspire hope, and possibly motivate people to develop their own ideas for a greener, more efficient planet.

Impact on Ecology:

As mentioned before, it bares repeating that there are over 275 million tires in stockpiles throughout the United States alone today. A shocking statistic, indeed.

The major impact that Top Hat Risers will have on ecology is the elimination of tire yards and stockpiles that are breading grounds for contamination and infestation. Not to mention the severe risk of tire fires that can quickly grow and become difficult to control.

Our planet is becoming overrun by pollution, and tires are a big part of that. Each Top Hat Riser produced will make use of roughly 2 tires. This may seem like a small number, but if you consider the millions of manholes in the United States alone, we have the potential to take a real chunk out of the dangerous surplus of discarded tires contaminating our planet. Similar to the affect Top Hat Risers will have on culture, it is our vision that Top Hat Risers will inspire more environmentally conscious decisions in the future, and will be a large part of a green movement that may save our planet.

Impact on Politics

The most important impacts Top Hat Risers will have on politics are the money saved, and innovative thinking promoted. The money saved will be available for use in other areas such as improved education, technology, medicine and other causes beneficial to the future of all mankind. Towns, cities and even countries that adopt the Top Hat Riser will find themselves celebrated for embracing such an environmentally conscious product.

Money is a big part of any government, and any penny saved is truly a penny earned. We are offering an opportunity for any governing body to make their roads safer, their citizens happier, their air and land cleaner, and they will save money in the process. Consider a town with 1,000 manholes that need adjusting: By using traditional methods, the community will spend upwards of $200,000 on labor and material costs. That’s a cost that can justify delaying the adjustments, leaving roads uneven and dangerous. However, installing Top Hat Risers on those same 1,000 manholes will cost as little as $40,000 total – a savings of up to 80%. Think of all the good that can be done with the money saved – not to mention the possibility of lower taxes, which makes everyone happy!

Don’t you think it’s time for politicians to embrace this innovative way of thinking and be proactive about making roads safer, communities greener and saving their citizens money? We certainly do.