Special Series

MEED reports that Saudi Arabia-based National Petrochemical Industrial Co (NATPET) aims to fast-track its geotextile joint venture. In February 2011, it was announced that NATPET and Low & Bonar had agreed to construct a plant near Yanbu, Saudi Arabia for the production of geotextiles and other materials. The plant would be supplied with NATPET's polypropylene under a long-term supply agreement. Learn more here.;

The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) is giving its nearly 3,000 members the newest online tool for the erosion control industry. In collaboration with MultiView, Inc., a web publishing company based in Irving, TX, IECA has created the Erosion Professionals Marketplace, an industry-driven search engine that highlights only suppliers and vendors that serve the erosion control industry.

It's graduation time in the United States. High schools and colleges across the country are dismissing classes and sending new graudates into the working world (or simply on to more education). For Bainbridge College (Georgia), 57-year-old James Ulmer has been awarded the college's Outstanding Graduate Medallion for his perfect grades en route to an electronics associates degree. Mr. Ulmer had spent his adult life working, first for Propex, then for American Fibers and Yarns. Both jobs ended due to the tough economy and plant closings. We congratulate him on staying interested and going back to school, and we wish him well on his return to the job search market. Good luck, James! Learn more here.;

A cleanup plan for Olympic View Sanitary Landfill in South Kitsap has been completed, and the owner, Waste Management of Washington Inc., is preparing to move forward with further work on the 65-acre landfill. The upgrade is to include repairs to the plastic cover to reduce rainwater intrusion, to gas-extraction wells that capture landfill gases, and to the piping network that carries gases away from the landfill. In addition, the plan calls for the addition of new gas-extraction wells, continued monitoring of groundwater and soil gases, and ongoing "institutional controls," such as limiting access with fences, signs and legal notifications. Learn more here.;

A Geotechnical Lab Testing course will be offered by Missouri University of Science and Technology June 15-17, on the campus. Attendees may earn up to 27 professional development hours (PDHs). The decision date for the course is May 20. Instructors are Drs. Louis Ge and Ronald Luna. Learn more here.;

The US government's Energy Information Administration (EIA) releases monthly updates to American power production, consumption, imports and exports. These figures are telling in regards to growth of industries. Current trends show nuclear stalemating (perhaps because of concerns brought on by Japan's situation). Renewables continue to accelerate in use. The cost in terms of real dollar GDP of petroleum and gas has declined sharply since 1973. All this in more in the March 2011 report. The April report is due out in the next week. Learn more here.;

The 9th Recirculating Aquaculture Conference is scheduled for 24-26 August 2012 in Roanoke, Virginia. Learn more here.;

The United States Industrial Fabrics Institute (USIFI), a division of the Industrial Fabrics Association International, is challenging the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (commonly known as KORUS). USIFI is currently leading an educational campaign on the Hill to keep the specialty fabrics industry's U.S. factories open and save jobs which will be bartered away with the terms of the KORUS agreement. Currently specialty fabrics represent a world market estimated at $123 billion in 2010, $29 billion of that in the U.S.

When GE established a PCB landfill in the Pittsfield, Massachusetts area, it never anticipated what a wildlife habit the site would become. The site is secured by a large fence, but deer have come and gone freely for years now. A geosynthetic cap and clean fill shield the surface vegetation from the contaminated waste, and site monitoring is constant. Learn more here.;

As the National Association of County Engineers (NACE) gathers in Minneapolis, Minnesota for its 2011 annual conference and trade show, Geosynthetica's editor Chris Kelsey is there. Read two reports from the event's first full-day of sessions: a general introduction (linked to here) and a focus piece on the geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) bridge abutment technology that is drastically changing construction windows and costs--for the better.

In addition to work item WK32898's focus on OIT evaluation, ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics has announced work item WK32899. This is also a revision Standard D5885-06, "Standard Test Method for Oxidative Induction Time of Polyolefin Geosynthetics by High-Pressure Differential Scanning Calorimetry." This work item focuses on an update procedure and a greater description of sample and specimen preparation. Learn more here.;

ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics has announced work item WK32897, "Standard Guide for Selecting Test Methods for Experimental Evaluation of Geosynthetic Durability." This is a work item revision to existing standard D5819-05. Learn more here.;

ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics has announced work item WK32898, "Standard Test Method for Oxidative Induction Time of Polyolefin Geosynthetics by High-Pressure Differential Scanning Calorimetry." This is a work item revision to existing standard D5885-06. The work item aims to update the test procedure and specimen sampling technique. Learn more here.;

In the spring 2011 edition of TenCate's magazine txtures, the 40+ pages of stories venture far and wide in technology and interaction, taking readers from the development of new synthetic grass materials to the impact of crowdsourcing to the award-winning utilization of geotextile tubes in major bridge construction in South Korea. And don't miss the article on the large contaminated sediment project from Sepetiba Bay, Brazil (page 22). Read the Spring 2011 txtures online.

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On Monday, February 21, 2011, at the 42nd conference and expo of the International Erosion Control Association (IECA), the presentation ceremony for the Awards of Environmental Excellence was held. For the past 20 years, IECA has recognized the industry's best by awarding persons and projects epitomizing the principles of environmental excellence.

Geo-Frontiers 2011 is less than 2 weeks away! Do you have your schedule planned? Learn more here.;

Tensar International (Booth 400) has announced the completion of its 100th Wind Farm Project. Read more about the interaction between geosynthetics and this vital renewable energy sector.

On 21 March 2011, I-CORP INTERNATIONAL, Inc. marks 20 years of international geosynthetic materials performance consulting work that has taken the company to more than 35 countries. Ian Peggs recalls 20 moments from those 20 years in geosynthetics. Dr. Peggs will take part in the panel discussion on HDPE welding and installation during Geo-Frontiers 2011.

BOSTD Geosynthetics is truly active internationally, with E'Grid products being distributed and utilized in construction in Europe, Asia, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, and the Middle East. Learn all the details on the E'Grids English-language website (www.newgrids.com). Learn more here.;

Demtech Services, Inc. (www.demtech.com) is hitting the road with "Demtech On The Move," an innovative solution that delivers customer service right to your door step. To do this, Demtech welcomes Wayne Leger to its field services team. Wayne will be traveling throughout the United States with his fully-equipped trailer to bring the following services to you: Equipment Demonstrations; Hands-On Training; IAGI Proctoring; and On-Site Repairs.

Though the International Erosion Control Association's (IECA) Environmental Connection 2011 (EC11) conference and trade show does not open until February 20, now is the perfect time to start thinking about presentations and papers you might want to participate in during 2012's event. Start forming your idea, bring it to the conference, let it grow a bit, and submit your abstract to IECA by 27 May 2011 to make EC12 just as strong as EC11. Submittals are encouraged for full and half day classes as well as one hour presentations. Learn more. Learn more here.;

The Supervisory Board intends to nominate Mr B. Cornelese for appointment as member of the Executive Board and CFO. Further information will be provided in the notes to the agenda for the next shareholders' meeting. Mr Cornelese (46) is currently employed as Vice President & CFO EMEA of Biomet Inc. Prior to this he was CFO Northern Europe of Pepsico International.

The National Engineers Week Foundation has announced that the 2011 edition of Engineers Week will be recognized February 20-26. This year, Lynn G. Bellenger of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) will serve as chair, while William H. Swanson of Raytheon Company will serve as co-chair. Learn more. Learn more here.;

In a ceremony on 1 Dec. in Washington, DC, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke presented IFAI President and CEO Stephen Warner with a recognition award for receiving the Market Development Cooperator Program Grant for its IFAI Expo Asia 2011 trade show development. The MDCP award is bestowed by the International Trade Administration (ITA) of the US Dept. of Commerce, and includes a $250,000 grant plus technical assistance from ITA to support well-defined business plans aimed at increasing exports and U.S. competitiveness within certain industries. Learn more here.;