Special Series

Fissures continue to plague Arizona roadways. Last year it took geogrid installed along a 900-foot stretch of cracking earth to stabilize a heavily traveled road. But other roads in that project's vacinity are experiencing fissures and might benefit from a similar stabilization design. Learn more here.;

Yet again, the geosynthetics community has been hit with an attack. Learn more about the So Big F Worm.

The latest market reports from Freedonia indicate that plastic fencing will be one of the fencing industries' biggest growth areas; the study looks to 2010. Learn more here.;

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added 7 sites to the National Priorities List--the Superfund list. The polluted sites are scattered about the country: California, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah. Information on the sites and the cleanup plans can be found on this EPA page. Learn more here.;

The latest edition of Land & Water's Erosion and Sediment Control Network (ESCN) TV is available online. This week's topic: a city and developer are sued over sewage discharge; clearing chemical weapons debris for landfilling; and picking the right materials. Watch it now. Learn more here.;

ASTM D7008-03 Standard Specification for Geosynthetic Alternate Daily Covers and D7006-03 Standard Practice for Ultrasonic Testing of Geomembranes are now available for purchase. Learn more here.;

Because most people don't follow up after an interview, sending an e-mail or phoning the hiring manager can help you stand out, Harry Urschel writes. "You have far more to lose by not doing it, than the infinitesimal risk of losing an opportunity by doing it," he writes. Learn more here.;

After performing electrical liner integrity and leak location surveys for over 17 years I-CORP 's emphasis is now on teaching the technology to others (with TRI / T-CLIC ), locating troublesome leaks (as opposed to final CQA surveys), and performing more unusual surveys.

Dubai's tourist-drawing, 70 km long shoreline has been prone to erosion. Old control methods led to disruptive tides and sand deposits. The Jumeirah Beach restoration project aims to correct these ills, and its intermediate phase has utilitzed geotextile bags for waterfront stability. Read the article in ITP Business. Learn more here.;

Pollution to coastal water from a development near Honolulu have led to the state's Supreme Court ruling that cities and counties in the state have a duty to protect the coastal waters from threats such as sediment runoff. Read more in the Honolulu Advertiser. Learn more here.;

Fiber optics and imbedded sensors are propelling a new direction in geosynthetic research and application. The German-based Innovations Report looks at their use for seismic and soil subsidence analysis and response. Read it online. Learn more here.;

Goals for the International Erosion Control Association's Annual Conference were 2000 attendees and 140 exhibitors. Post conference tallies were at 2270 attendees and 158 exhibitors! The 2004 Conference is in Philadelphia, PA., February 16-20. Exhibit space is already 59% sold out so reserve your space now. Learn more here.;

(April 9, 2004 - Minneapolis, MN) Conwed announced today that it acquired Atlantic Extrusion Company’s (AEC) assets and technology for producing oriented and extruded square netting and will begin servicing AEC’s customers immediately. Conwed is positioned to expand through similar strategic acquisitions in the near future. “We’ve been very diligent over the last year to streamline our business and position ourselves for growth,” explained Mark Lewry, President and CEO. “We are exploring strategic investment opportunities that will allow Conwed to more effectively add value and capacity to our breadth of solutions.” As the leader in the marketplace, Conwed has continuously reinvested in the business. Over the last five years, Conwed significantly expanded its Athens, Georgia manufacturing facility and built a new manufacturing facility in Europe. Conwed will continue to invest in its business through acquisitions and expansion. Specifically, Conwed is pursuing companies for acquisition that produce extruded or oriented plastic products or specialize in converting or laminating. Last month, Conwed debuted in Proctor & Gamble’s Wash & Toss™ with a material that strengthens the disposable wipe and enhances scrubbing power without marring. In 2003, they commercialized a product that provides slip-resistance to the new roofing underlayment materials. These applications have been driven by Conwed’s patented Thermanet® technology which has a built in adhesive to easily bond to a variety of materials. “We are realizing an incredible synergy in markets such as, building, cleaning, and hygiene because our material and value added services provides an array of benefits to next generation value-added products,” said Steve Salvato, Vice President Global Sales. “Benefits of our net include scrubability, slip-resistance, stretch and recovery, reinforcement, and separation.”

WASEW Technologies and the Ethiopian Government have a new JV Geosynthetic plant starting up in January 2006 in Addis Ababa. In the last few years, Ethiopia has bought 10 to 15 million USD worth of geomembranes for agriculture. They are also buying large quantities of pipe for all applications. The new company Geosynthetic Industrial Works PLC has built a new factory with 4000 m 2 of factory and 1500 m2 of offices as stage 1 of the start of a Geosynthetics for Africa initiative. They will produce in stage 1: HDPE pipe, PVC pipe, HDPE geosynthetic netting and 25% of the plant production is smooth sheet geomembranes (most of the applications are water ponds). WASEW Technologies is the operating partner and has a large ownership position. The opening of this phase 1 plant will halt the importation of Geosynthetics into Ethiopia. Also, the new plant will employ over 100 Ethiopians. Phase 2 may have a more modern plant (three more plants are on the horizon). There will be no need to export as the plant is already sold out for the next 10 yrs with Goverment infrastructure projects. Labor costs there are less than 10% of the US. For more information on this new development, please contact Mike Mathieson at 702 353 2607.

"Sardinia 2007, the 11th International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium, has devoted a special attention to the developing countries (DC) waste management issues. In spite of my personal efforts (we apply very low fee or we wave it for DC delegates) I feel we should do more supporting participation of the DC Authors. Can your organization grant Symposium participation fellowships (lodging, or lodging and travel) for DC Authors? These fellowships could be managed directly by you and from our side we can give our contribution providing a special entrance fee for the fellowship winners. I think that if we will be successful it would be really a great support of enhancing international cooperation and development in waste management." Please contact the symposium to contribute at the "continued" link below. Learn more here.;

Brazil, Apr 18, 2001 (Gazeta Mercantil/SABI via COMTEX) -- Bidim, a company from BBA Nonwovens is reporting a 12% annual growth in the Brazilian market. In 2000 it claimed R$35mil turnover while in 1999 it reached R$29mil, and in 1998 R$25mil. According to its CEO in Brazil Mr Carlos Caldeira the company is investing to expand capacity at its plant based at Sao Jose do Campos, Sao Paulo state, which was acquired by Rhodia Ster in 1997 for R$40mil. For 2001 the plan is to destinate R$12mil for equipment acquisition. It will allow to increase production by 36%. It is currently estimated at 7,000 m tons per year. Bidim expects to reach R$37mil turnover in 2001. The Brazilian nonwoven textiles market is estimated at 100,000 m tons per year. Copyright (c) 2001, South American Business Information, All rights reserved

DailyIndia has published a short, informative article on building decorative water features. Rigid, fiberglass lining units are cautioned against. While flexible liners, such as geomembranes, are not mentioned at the outset, they are noted in the installation steps. The discussion is light--it's a "beginner's guide"--but the mention is important. Even the most basic commodity application helps extend general knowledge of the core properties and utility of geomembranes.

The International Erosion Control Association’s (IECA) annual photo contest entries are on display at the IECA Web site. The entries cover four categories (Before and After, EC Bloopers, Technology, Impacts of Erosion) and feature blankets, turf reinforcement mats (TRMs), silt fence, and other measures. As a Cooperating Organization, geosynthetica.net will exhibit at EC06, the IECA's premier event, 20-24 February 2006. Learn more here.;

The Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) is changing the name of its flagship publication, current the Industrial Fabric Products Review. With its March 2008 issue, the magazine will publish under the name Specialty Fabrics Review. This is not the first name change in the publication's history. It has changed names previously for the same reason: to reflect growth and change in the industries it serves. Learn more here.;

A major intermodal logistics facilities and solutions provider for global commodities transport sought to construct new warehouses at a site in Perú. However, poor foundation conditions--clay silt materials, high...

In the latest addition to our GeoAmericas series of articles, Joel Sprague and Jay Sprague of TRI Environmental’s large-scale outdoor research laboratories in South Carolina look at the complex...