Soil Reinforcement

Mumbai, India-based Emmbi Polyarns, a polymer processing firm with significant interest in geosynthetics manufacture, has opened its initial public offering (IPO) of 95,74,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each for subscription. The price band has been fixed at Rs 40 to Rs 45 per equity share and the issue will close on February 3. The offer has been greeted with both excitement in the Indian market and concern for the dilution level. But Emmbi insists that its ambitious expansion goals, rooted heavily in geosynthetics, will justify the IPO and secure Emmbi's business. Read an interview with Makrand Appalwar, Emmbi's Managing Director. Learn more here.;

EcoInform has announced dates for the 7th Cooperation for Waste Issues forum. It will be held 7-8 April 2010 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Papers are being solicited through 1 December 2009. Key topics sought include environmental issues of waste management, new technologies, landfill construction and operation, sludge management, waste to energy, and more. Learn more at the conference website. Learn more here.;

Innovations with additive packages and coatings have driven  many of the new product additions to the geosynthetics field in recent years. This has been especially true with...

The biennial, 2.5-day GeoU in Austin, Texas focuses on geosynthetics in civil infrastructure. The event co-locates short courses on landfill design, landfill CQA, and civil infrastructure (roadway design, walls...

The town of Rosendale, New York began emergency road repairs in March to fix a rapidly eroding slope that forced a sudden road closure. A retaining wall is being constructed to stabilize the slope, and geotextile and crushed stone have been fitted at the toe to prevent further erosion and to provide stability. Learn more here.;

The 2nd international Geosynthetics in Road Construction conference was held May 19 in Moscow. Key sponsors for the event included Maccaferri, NAUE, Thrace Group, Bohnenkamp AG, and New Ground....

ACE Geosynthetics has taken home the top prize in the Geosynthetic Projects category of the 2009 International Achievement Awards (IAA). The winning entries in the IAA competition were announced during IFAI Expo, the annual conference of the Industrial Fabrics Association International's (IFAI). ACE's winning project comes from a complex road and slope repair in Taiwan. Two other geosynthetic awards were given, each of which went to last year's Excellence Award winner: TenCate Geosynthetics. See photographs of the winning projects. Learn more here.;

By Terre Armée –Situated on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in eastern Canada, where the Gulf of St Lawrence opens onto the Atlantic Ocean, the town...

Engineers investigating the raw water reservoir in Fremont, Ohio have discovered some karst. Among other effects, karst can cause seepage, piping, and instability. The engineers' report from Arcadis recommend a composite liner system (HDPE or LLDPE geomembrane and GCL) across the entire slope, protected by geotextile and cover soil, and geogrid reinforcement. The city has roughly one year to complete the reservoir project and must now seek approval to alter the design and include a lining system. Learn more here.;

SKZ announces the 2nd International Conference of Geosynthetics Middle East to be held in Dubai, UAE (10-11 November 2009). A call for papers has been issued with abstracts due by 30 March 2009. This year's topics include polymer developments; products (Geomembranes, Geotextiles, Geogrids, Geocomposites, Erosion control products, Geopipes); testing, quality assurance, certification; installation, welding; applications, projects, case studies; durability, lifetime. Dr. Helmut Zanzinger will chair the seminar. Download the call for papers here.

Effective Monday, November 22, Tensar Corporation and its principal business unit Tensar International will consolidate their headquarters locations to operate more efficiently. The move, which takes the companies to the Northwinds development in Alpharetta, Georgia, ends more than a decade of separate locations within a business park in Atlanta's Northern Perimeter area. Read more.

New Civil Engineers' (NCE) coverage of the Tensar flood damage response in Cumbria. Learn more here.;

The International Erosion Control Association Region One reminds the engineering community that abstracts for the 2018 IECA Conference and Exhibition are due May 31. The 2018 IECA conference will be held...

ASTM Committee D35 will meet 8-11 June 2010 in St. Louis, Missouri. The current schedule includes the second meeting on geocells, reinforced geomembrane seams, asperity height, GCL design guidance, and much much more. Participants are reminded that the cut-off date for hotel registration is April 29. The cut-off date for pre-registration is June 2. Visit the D35 page for registration information. Learn more here.;

This April, Geosynthetica is promoting 30 Days of Earth Day (#30DaysEarthDay). Each day we will publish stories on the intersections between geosynthetics and environmental protection, sustainable development, climate change,...

The latest release on geosynthetics from the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) reports on the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) support for geosynthetic performance in levee construction and reinforcement. Read the full release here.

The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) has added the 2009-published book Thermal Analysis of Polymers: Fundamentals and Applications by Joseph D. Menczel and R. Bruce Prime. This book emphasizes the practical uses of thermal analysis. Each chapter guides readers through the applications of thermal analysis for polymer characterization, with detailed examples that show how to perform each step. Learn more here.;

In the most recent newsletter from the Geosynthetics Interest Group of South Africa (GIGSA), Maccaferri's Edoardo Zannoni (who chairs GIGSA's subcomittee on specifications) writes on the role of ISO in harmonizing international terminology and cross-border understanding of geosynthetics. Zannoni notes that the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) has established multiple committees to bring South Africa's standards practices with geosynthetics in line with ISO. We reprint Mr. Zannoni's article by permission of GIGSA here.

The North Bay Business Journal, which serves San Francisco and the surrounding Napa and Sonoma Valleys, has mentioned Indiana-based North American Green in a round-up of green business news. NA Green's Santa Rosa-based supplier Stevenson Supply Co. was recgonized by NA Green in the company's 2009 Distributor Case Study Competition. Stevenson supplied 4,000 sq. ft. of turf reinforcement mats (TRMs) to replace concrete in a drainage ditch project. Learn more here.;

The International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) has published its fifth edition of "Recommended Descriptions of Geosynthetics Functions, Geosynthetics Terminology, Mathematical and Graphical Symbols." The project provides IGS members and users of geosynthetics everywhere a current base of information for an ever-changing array of products, applications and terminology. Download a copy in PDF today. Learn more here.;

When filmmaker Hugh Hunt began production on the documentary "Dambusters: Building the Bouncing Bomb," he sought a dramatic form of authenticity to understanding the 1943 RAF attack on dams in Germany's military industry-heavy Ruhr Valley. The raid utilized the unique "bouncing bomb," most of the technical aspects of which were lost in a 1960s flood. Hunt sought a construction site with water access on which he could construct a concrete dam--one he could subsequently blow up in a simulated attack. The dam was constructed of concrete lock block on an excavated site in Mackenzie, British Columbia with the help of BC Hyrdo. A geotextile backing on the dam helped stabilized the quick construction. Learn more here.;

With 11,000+ attendees, 4,000 presentations, and 750 sessions and workshops, and with just a few days in which to absorb the material, the annual Transportation Research Board gathering in Washington, D.C. is a huge undertaking for both organizers and attendees. To support this year's event (January 13–17) TRB has released a very useful mobile app for saving agendas, keyword search, session and committee meeting times/locations, and more.

The deadline for the “early-bird” conference registration fee for GeoEdmonton’08 in 20 July 2008. Act soon to save $100 on registration. For non-members of the Canadian Geotechnical Society (CGS), your registration includes membership. The online registration system can also be used to register for the short courses and technical tours. GeoEdmonton '08 will be held 21-24 September 2008 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Learn more here.;

The geosynthetics field really took off in the 1990s, and one company that was part of that swift growth was HUESKER, Inc. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based company...

The International Erosion Control Association (IECA Region One) rarely enjoys a quiet moment. The organization is very active in education, event management, and general promotion of expert and issues...