ALPOLIC® 350 Plays a Major Role in Highway Safety

Because Americans take 1.1 billion trips a day, roadway safety is of the utmost importance. Even small changes can have an incredible impact. The Federal Highway Administration recommends increasing the visibility of traffic signals and studies have shown adding reflective sheeting to signal backplates is a low-cost way of significantly reducing crashes.

The problem: Traditional backplate materials such as plastic and solid sheet aluminum posed a challenge with concerns over durability and weight. The solution: Korman Signs developed the LIGHTHAWK™ Series using ALPOLIC^® 350 to provide a lightweight, long-lasting signal plate.

MCM is for more than just architectural cladding. Nontraditional uses of ALPOLIC can be found throughout the world within numerous markets. From furniture to acoustic applications, the versatility of ALPOLIC is well-known with designers and fabricators alike. What most people may not realize is that ALPOLIC also features prominently in the traffic safety industry and has for more than 25 years.

ALPOLIC® 350, branded by Korman Signs, Inc. is used to back thousands of traffic lights in more than 14 states and that number is growing annually. Known in the industry as LIGHTHAWK™, metal composite materials finished in matte black can be found in cities, both large and small, across the United States, from Virginia to California.

Quality materials, for uncompromising safety.

Approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), LIGHTHAWK™ is framed with highly reflective, fluorescent yellow 3M™ Diamond Grade™ DG3 Reflective Sheeting in varying widths based on the backing plate requirement. According to 3M, “…DG3 Reflective Sheeting can offer nearly twice the brightness of conventional prismatic sheeting, attracting the attention of drivers sooner to help improve response times.”

Signals that include reflective borders are more visible and conspicuous in both daytime and nighttime conditions. Because drivers can easily see them, the FHWA notes that their presence results, on average, in a 15% reduction in all crashes at urban, signalized intersections. These are especially useful during a power outage where the reflective signal backplane can alert drivers of an upcoming intersection, even without an operational traffic light.

Partnering for Success for over 25 years.

Bill Korman, president of Korman Signs, gives credit to ALPOLIC, saying, “Nothing on the market offers a better warranty, and it’s just lighter, more durable, and brighter. We routinely face competition with cheaper material but often they can’t meet or compete. ALPOLIC’s warranty and the quality aluminum in the product definitely makes a difference.”

Korman remembers when the Virginia Department of Transportation first reached out to him regarding the challenges of signal backplates. He notes that previous materials used had their limitations. Plastics were susceptible to fading and would turn brittle in the changing weather conditions. Solid aluminum was detrimentally heavy, because when the signal mast arms extend 30-80’, mere ounces matter. “VDOT came to us saying we're just having a heck of a time trying to come up with a product that's going to last, and no one would give a guarantee longer than a year.”

“And I said, this sounds like an ideal application for ALPOLIC.”

Knowing MCM’s impressive strength-to-weight ratio, Korman reached out to the ALPOLIC team, based in nearby Chesapeake, Virginia. Together, their partnership set a new standard for safety performance and value. “Initially, we were underbid by another company, but they could not meet the specifications. We could, with our ALPOLIC^® 350, so we got the job,” said Korman. Korman notes that cheaper products end up underperforming and costing more in the long run. Innovative LIGHTHAWK™ back plates, by comparison, have a low net life cost investment.

Korman Signs has been pioneering the traffic safety arena with LIGHTHAWK™, which has steadily grown in popularity since being introduced in the early 2000s. This dedicated American manufacturing process only sources the best materials on the market and leads the industry with an unbeatable 12-year finished product life.

Decades of dependable production.

The company has fabricated road and traffic-related products since its beginnings in 1975, when its handmade traffic signage was produced from scratch in the company’s first, rented building outside of Richmond, VA. Still headquartered in Henrico, VA, Korman Signs has relocated to a 93,000-square foot, state-of-the-art space that maintains the largest inventory of blank sign backs and traffic signals in a variety of sizes and shapes in the nation.

Trusted because of its demonstrated wind tunnel and nighttime field demonstration, Korman Signs was recently awarded a four-year contract by the City of Suffolk, Virginia for permanent traffic signage, which will be made from ALPOLIC® 350. “ALPOLIC® 350 is well known in the traffic safety community. And in some places, its listed by name on the spec,” explains Korman.

The use of ALPOLIC^® 350 has expanded beyond signal back plates to include road hazard signs and permanent road signs. Korman also offers digital printing, vehicle graphics and work zone accessories, but he is excited to share the story of LIGHTHAWK™ and is glad to see the reach of ALPOLIC^® 350 extend country-wide through a partnership with several national distributors of traffic signal equipment.

While ALPOLIC is proud of the incredible architecture that comes to life with metal composite materials, we’re also proud of the safety impact our products are making across the country because of Korman Signs. A partnership 25 years in the making, LIGHTHAWK™ is used daily to help keep traffic safely moving.