Green Technology Tried in Hawaii Kai
Kauai-born brothers Arist and Max de Wolff returned to Hawaii a few years ago to work in the family business of asphalt paving. Their small company, Alakona Corp, has a reputation as a specialist for commercial, government and private projects.
After researching the latest industry products and trends, they invested $1 million in supplies and equipment to manufacture a foamed asphalt base that is a “green” alternative to traditional hot-mix asphalt. It is 80 percent as strong as traditional asphalt, depending on how thick it is laid, but costs up to 50 percent less to produce, according to Betsy Wilson, who in addition to being the mother of Arist and Max is Alakona’s majority owner and president. Called Green Mix Hawaii, they started using the product this past spring.
Alakona paid about $500,000 for the German-made equipment, called the Wirtgen KMA 200. Using a cold process, it mixes reclaimed or recycled asphalt with foam to make the base — the heavy layer of material laid between the road surface and the ground — needed to keep roads durable. The resulting foamed asphalt can be stored for up to a month, unlike hot asphalt,which needs to be used immediately after it is made, before it cools. It also qualifies for innovation and design credits for LEED certification.
The company's projects include paving work for Windward Mall, Costco at the Hawaii Kai Towne Center and the Bluestone condominiums in Lanikai. Its largest project was repaving the entire entryway, approximately 100,000 square feet, for Kamehameha Schools’ main Kapalama campus last year.
Commercial clients such as shopping mall owners and condominium developers account for half of Alakona’s business. State and city government and the military make up 35 percent while residential clients comprise the remaining 15 percent. “We just do what we do, which is promote sustainability and use new and proven technologies,” Wilson said.
(resource: Pacific.bizjournals.com)