Alan Curtis Industry Service Award

from Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction February 2022

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TYMCORecognized for Innovative Regenerative Air Sweeper

The first air sweeper, originally called the air flow sweeper, was developed in 1965 to meet the needs of the road construction industry.

B.W. Young (far right) standing next to his early invention, a slurry seal machine. The 2022 Pavement Alan Curtis Industry Service Award is presented to B.W. Young, founder of TYMCO, for the invention of the Regenerative Air Sweeper technology

B.W.Young of Young Brothers Contractors, Inc. and founder of TYMCO, Inc. is the recipient of the 2022 Alan Curtis Industry Service Award for envisioning multiple applications for the Regenerative Air Sweeper and the positive environmental effects the equipment would have, and continues to have, on the industry.

“Kenneth and Gary Young continue the original vision of their late father,” said Tom Rokas, inside sales at TYMCO. “Developing and producing quality equipment that cleans and improves our industry from high-trafficked roads to parking lots and all pavement between.”

DEEP ROOTED HISTORY The first air sweeper, originally called the air flow sweeper, was developed in 1965 to meet the needs of the road construction industry by the late Mr. B.W. Young of Young Brothers Contractors, of Waco, TX. A self-educated road contractor, Mr. Young developed many pieces of equipment for the road building industry. His patented regenerative air street sweeper was developed in response to the demands of his earlier inventions — a truck mounted process of resealing asphalt roads with a layer of emulsified asphalt and sand, or as the industry knows it slurry seal. Conventional broom sweepers, which swept the dirt and debris into cracks in the roadway, thus preventing the sealing process, were costly to maintain and not effective in totally cleaning the road surface.

Mr. Young's concept started with the idea to use a large portable air compressor to blast the roadway surface clean. Since the surface had to remain clean after being blasted with air, he developed the idea of a regenerative air system that captured the dirt and debris in a hopper and reused only centrifugally

cleaned air to restart the closed loop regenerative air sweeping cycle.

In the late 1960’s, the three Young brothers, F.M., R.T. and B.W., formed three separate companies. F.M. retained Young Brothers Contractors, Inc., R.T. formed Slurry Seal International, while B.W. Young incorporated and federally registered TYMCO – The Young Manufacturing Company.

The TYMCO Regenerative Air Sweeper quickly set a new standard for sweepers in cleaning roads, parking lots, and runways. In the early years of market development, TYMCO sweepers were sold by salespeople who traveled around the country demonstrating the equipment on city streets and on large parking lots for curious contractors and public officials looking for a sweeper with less downtime, better sweeping performance and overall cleaner sweep.

When the need for a smaller sweeper became evident, Mr. Young developed the parking lot size TYMCO Model 300. Within the first two years of its introduction, it became the most accepted parking lot sweeper on the market. Later, the Model 210 was developed, and it was the first TYMCO to feature a hydraulically operated high dump with a 60-in. reach for dumping into garbage dumpsters, reducing dump time and increasing productivity.

“From those small beginnings, TYMCO now has an international network of dealers,” said Rokas. “We have continuously upgraded our manufacturing process, which translates to quality equipment for contractors.”

Today, models range from the powerful street cleaning Model 600®, dustless Model DST-6®, high speed airport runway Model HSP®, highdumping Model 500x®, mid sized Model 435®, dustless Model DST-4®, and parking lot sweepers, Model 210® and Model 210h®. EDUCATIONAL TRAINING AND SUPPORT When operators and owners are educated about the equipment they use, it can enhance employee performance and improve company culture. This can in turn improve job quality, productivity and profitability for the company.

“We have worked with the North American Power Sweeping Association, along with other manufacturers, to develop their Certified Sweeper

TYMCO has a sweeping service school for owners, operators and mechanics to get hands-on training and answer specific questions about the equipment onsite at their Waco, TX location.

Operator training,” said Rokas.

TYMCO also offers a Service School for mechanics, operators and owners to get hands-on training and answer specific questions about the equipment onsite at their Waco, TX location. Attendees review components and proper maintenance, removal and installation of assembly parts.

“When we build the sweeper components, we make those as accessible as possible so the sweeper can be worked on,” said Rokas. “We make it very simple to understand and provide tools for troubleshooting along with easy-toaccess parts on the sweeper.”

ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATIONS Ever since the inception of the Regenerative Air Sweeper, TYMCO has recognized its responsibility to sustainability and continually strives to improve stormwater quality, air quality and environmental management through street sweeping.

TYMCO has their own Research and Development Department that continues to explore design features to increase dust particle collection and retention in the machine’s hopper.

“There is more to cleaning a paved surface than removing litter and debris,” said Rokas. “Municipalities and industrial companies look to perform a deeper clean by reducing potentially harmful particles not visible to the naked eye. At TYMCO, we recognize the responsibility to reduce the environmental impact of the sweepers we build and the work we do.”

Another recent innovation TYMCO developed is the BlueLogic® Control System. This system utilizes a digital multiplex electrical system to make troubleshooting easier for service technicians as well as to reduce the amount of wiring used in the control system. BlueLogic has an in-cab touch screen display that provides on-board diagnostics for the sweeper providing valuable information including hour meters, operational messages, service reminders, event logs and sweeper statistics such as fuel usage, water usage and sweeper mileage. The BlueLogic display is used on all Final Tier 4 diesel and compressed natural gas powered TYMCO sweepers.

The family-owned business continues to expand the technology and innovations over the past 50 years while keeping B.W. Young’s original vision of developing and producing equipment which improves the environment through simple efficient design. ■

See all 2022 Pavement Award winners at ForConstructionPros.