Special Series

On 01/31/06, Propex acquired all the outstanding capital stock of SI (Concrete Systems and Geosolutions) for approximately $232.6 million. These results include SI's results of operations from January 31, 2006… Learn more here.;

The Tamil Nadu region of India is in dire need of modern water management technologies. Recent estimates are that 75 percent of the region's water is used for agricultural irrigation. To support that sector and the general population, though, modern conservation technologies, such as liners, are needed. Use the search words "Tamil Nadu" on the World Bank's site for more information. Learn more here.;

Contractors seeking a competitive advantage in new or tight markets will benefit from “Monopolize Your Marketplace,” a business improvement workshop sponsored by the International Erosion Control Association (IECA). This 4-session workshop will be held February 15, 2007, in Reno, NV, as part of IECA’s annual conference and expo, Environmental Connection ’07 (EC07). Wider enforcement of stormwater regulations has created a growing demand for contractors who can apply erosion and sediment control practices to residential, commercial and highway construction sites. “Monopolize Your Marketplace” will show contractors what opportunities the erosion and sediment control market offers, market dynamics and how to position their business to capture the growth. “As a resource for the erosion and sediment control community, IECA has an obligation to its members and others in the industry to provide the tools necessary to help them succeed,” said Ben Northcutt, executive director of IECA. “We think this workshop is a nice compliment to the technical and product information these business owners receive at EC07.” The sessions will be presented by Judy Guido, a leading business management coach and consultant for the green industry. Guido will address ways to reduce marketing costs, increase efficiencies, establish a master brand and gain market share from the competition. “If you’re serious about positioning your company as a market leader and increasing your profits, bring your key people and an open mind,” said Guido. The sessions are included in the price of a Thursday pass to EC07. In addition “Monopolize Your Marketplace,” contractors will have the opportunity to explore the EC07 expo. As the world’s largest soil and water event, the EC07 expo boasts more than 160 vendors dedicated to erosion, sediment control and stormwater solutions. “By combining this workshop with a visit to our expo, we hope to provide contractors with a complete package,” said Northcutt. “Whether you’re a landscape contractor looking to expand your business or an erosion control contractor looking for new ways to boost your bottom line, we have the education and products to help you meet your goals.” To find out more information about “Monopolize Your Marketplace,” EC07, or IECA visit the link below. Learn more here.;

WASTECON 2006, held 5-8 September 2006 at The Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West, Cape Town is reviewed at the link below.

Owens Corning and Saint-Gobain are in discussions to merge Owens Corning's Reinforcements Business and Saint-Gobain's Reinforcement and Composites Businesses (a part of the entity known as Vetrotex) into a new company, to be called Owens Corning-Vetrotex Reinforcements. Learn more here.;

The World Bank has awarded a $100 million loan for improving Brazil's rapidly deteriorating roads. Nearly 2000 km of roads in Bahia will be strengthened. The "continued" link contains a release about the development plan. More information about the Bahia Integrated State Highway Management Project is available by cutting nad pasting the following link into your browser: http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P095460 Learn more here.;

The Geoengineer Web site has a page at which various Top 10 paper lists are posted. For example, what are the top ten paper on properties of solid waste? geosynthetica.net is interested to know your nominations for papers on geosynthetics. We'll submit nominations to Geoengineer.org. E-mail us your suggestions. Learn more here.;

Ghislain Brunet of Maccaferri has co-authored an article on vegetated gabion design for stream stabilization. Read it online at Land & Water. Learn more here.;

A message from Boyd Ramsey, Vice President Technical Sales, GSE: "I am excited to inform you of a change to the technical staff of GSE Lining Technology. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Mengjia Li who has accepted a promotion to become GSE's Business Line Manager for our Drainage and Geotextile product lines. Dr. Li obtained his Bachelors and Masters Degrees at Tongji University in Shanghai, China. In 2005 he was granted a Doctorate in Civil/Geotechnical Engineering from Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Li joined GSE in 2004 as a technical support specialist. He has previously been employed as a civil engineer for the Shanghai Foundation Engineering Company and Jincan Construction Engineering Management. In his new position, Dr. Li is responsible for the promotion, specification and sales of GSE's specialty drainage products. He will also be instrumental in the release of new drainage materials which GSE plans to make available in 2007. Dr. Li can be reached at GSE's Houston, TX headquarters. His direct phone line is 281 230 6726 and his email address is mli@gseworld.com Dr. Li replaces Dr. Dhani Narejo who has left GSE to become a principal at Caro Consultants, LLC; Dr. Narejo can be reached at dnarejo@caroeng.com , phone 936-321-1956. GSE wishes Dr. Narejo great success in his new endeavours. GSE offers you the opportunity to take advantage of Dr Li's expertise in designing and specifying drainage systems which utilize GSE's excellent quality and high performance materials. Information on our products can be obtained from our website www.gseworld.com. Learn more here.;

For information regarding TRI's current short courses, and registration for the CQA CERTIFICATION EXAMS, please go to TRI's page within geosynthetica. Reserve your spots soon to take advantage of the early registration discounts. Register by this Friday, November 17, 2006 for "EarlyBird" Fees.

PGI’s west coast short courses were well received and attended by regulatory and industry professionals. The PVC Geomembrane Institute (PGI) offered its popular short course, “Constructing with GCLs and PVC Geomembranes,” on Oct. 26, 2006 in Sacramento, Calif., and Oct. 27, 2006 in Riverside, Calif. Hosted by the California Water Board, the courses were presented by Timothy D. Stark, Sam Allen, John Heap, Stuart Lange, and Chris Athanassopoulos, P.E. “The short courses generated outstanding attendance in both northern and southern California,” said Stark, a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. More than 100 professionals from various disciplines within the industry including those involved with the regulation, design, construction, operation and closure of landfills, lagoons, ponds, decorative applications, and corrective action activities at closed sites, attend the course. In addition to obtaining 0.8 CEUs from the University of Illinois, participants gained a broad knowledge of what is required to properly design, specify and construct liner and/or cover systems with GCLs and PVC geomembranes. This course included discussion of the latest information on PVC geomembranes including current research at the University of Illinois, manufacturing, formulation, fabrication, shipping, installation, long-term performance, interface strengths and slope stability, wedge welding, air channel testing of field PVC seams, and updated ASTM testing of PVC geomembranes. The course also presented the latest information GCLs including panel separation, hydraulic equivalence, specifications, testing, and installation. The PGI 1104 Specification and the associated ASTM Specification were discussed for testing and certification of PVC geomembranes in a variety of environmental applications. PGI and its membership, dedicated to advancing the use of PVC geomembranes, aids engineers in specifying PVC for environmental applications. For additional information about future course offerings, visit www.pvcgeomembrane.com or contact Frank Konvalinka, PGI, at +1-217-333-3929.

As reported in Nonwovens Industry, "Effective no later than January 1, 2007 Colbond will raise prices worldwide for its entire product range to offset escalating raw material and energy prices experienced in 2006. General inflation is also a contributing factor. Increases will vary by product, application, region, and currency." Learn more here.;

As reported in Nonwovens Industry, "BBA Group, plc, a London-based holding company, has announced details of the proposed demerger/spin-off of its Fiberweb nonwovens business unit and its planned listing as a separate public company, Fiberweb plc, on the London Stock Exchange. The spin-off, expected to be complete November 17, 2006." Learn more here.;

New Publisher:Rodman (Rod) Zilenziger, Jr., president of Rodman Publishing Corp., is pleased to announce the appointment of Matt Carey as publisher of Nonwovens Industry magazine. Learn more here.;

The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) is proud to announce the election of three new members to its 2007 Board of Directors. Claudia Chambers CPESC, CIT , Mark Hunter, PE and John McCullah, CPESC will begin their terms in February 2007. Chambers, Hunter and McCullah bring over 65 years of combined experience in the erosion and sediment control field representing contractors, government agencies and educators. Each member also has been actively involved with IECA for over a decade. They will join Michael Chase, CPESC, Julie Etra, CPESC, Ron Faucher, CPESC, Becky Gauthier, Lee Johnson, CPESC, and Tom Williams, CPESC in determining the future of the association. Chambers, co-owner of Kelley Erosion Control based in Reno, NV, will draw on her experience as past treasurer of IECA’s Western Chapter Board of Directors. In addition to the Western Chapter, she is also a member of IECA’s Southeast Chapter. After losing a home in Waveland, MS to Hurricane Katrina, Chambers and her husband, Rod, are using their erosion control contracting background to test different products and applications to find ways to re-establish vegetation in the area without the need for irrigation and equipment. Hunter is a manager of the Design, Construction and Maintenance Program at the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District in Denver, CO. As a founding member of IECA’s Mountain States Chapter, he has served on the Chapter’s Board of Directors as well as many IECA committees including the Bylaws Committee, the Technical Paper Review Committee, the Standards Committee and the Awards Committee. Outside of IECA, Hunter is on the Board of Directors for the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District which provides wastewater treatment and biosolids disposal for most of Denver, CO. McCullah, owner of Salix Applied Earthcare, has been re-elected to the Board seat he has held since 2003. As the current Marketing Vice President on the Board, McCullah has served on a variety of IECA committees including: Foundation Committee; Professional Development Committee; Business Plan Committee and the Market Study Task Force. Known in the industry for his “Dirt Time” series of educational training videos, he also is a regular instructor at IECA educational events and seminars. The IECA Board of Directors is made up of 9 members, each serving a three year term. Board officers will be decided at the Board meeting to be held at EC07, IECA’s annual conference and expo, February 12-16, 2007 in Reno, NV. At that time, current Board president, Doug Wimble, CPESC, will retire from his term on the Board. About IECA The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) is the world’s oldest and largest association devoted entirely to helping members solve the problems caused by erosion and its byproduct – sediment. Founded in 1972, IECA is a non-profit organization that serves as the premier global resource for the prevention and control of erosion. For more information about state-of-the-art educational events and materials, please visit our web site at www.ieca.org. If you have any questions please contact Kimberly Walker at kimberly@ieca.org .

Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) has turned 40. The Rockbridge Weekly profiles the firm's growth. Learn more here.;

As reported on Nonwovens Industry, "Basell has successfully expanded its catalyst manufacturing facility located in Ferrara, Italy. The capacity of the plant, which produces Ziegler polyethylene and Ziegler-Natta polypropylene catalysts, has been expanded by 40%. The plant can now supply catalysts for the production of 30 million tons of polyolefins" Learn more here.;

Saint-Gobain's press release of the 9 months Net Sales is now available on-line. Learn more here.;

No one seems to welcome a landfill in their town, but no one disagrees with the need to dispose of their garbage. After plenty of public debate, the new landfill in Ava, near Utica, New York, has opened. The state-of-the-art facility with its liner and leachate management system is profiled in the Utica Observer-Dispatch. Learn more here.;

Recently, Canadian Environmental Protection magazine presented an article on an 18,000-square-meter floating cover that had been installed over a storage pond at a vineyard in Australia. The pond had suffered significant evaporation and pipe clogging due to algae growth. The geomembrane cap resolved the concerns. Read the article. Learn more here.;

ADS® LLC, formerly ADS Corporation, has acquired Severn Trent Pipeline Services, a division of Severn Trent Services. With regional offices located throughout the United States, Severn Trent Pipeline Services provides specialized water distribution and sewer collection system analysis, pipeline and structure rehabilitation, and Hydra-Stop® line stopping and tapping equipment, insertion valves, and services. ADS LLC, a Nova Technologies Company, designs and manufactures flow measurement equipment and software. They provide field inspection and field services for flow monitoring and Sewer System Evaluation Studies (SSES). With two divisions, ADS Environmental Services and Accusonic® Technologies, ADS LLC has conducted over 5000 flow measurement projects in their 31-year history and provides products and services to customers in over 40 countries. “The addition of Severn Trent Pipeline Services to ADS will enable us to provide expanded field services and product offerings to our customers,” states Karl Boone, President and CEO of ADS LLC. “We are thrilled that we’ll be providing more to our clients in both wastewater collection systems and also in water distribution systems. In both areas, Severn Trent Pipeline Services already has a very strong base of offerings and an excellent track record. Everyone at ADS is very excited about joining forces with our new colleagues and growing what we offer to the wastewater and water marketplaces. Our customers have asked ADS to do more for them and we will.” “We are very happy to be joining the ADS team,” states Bill Hall, Vice President/General Manager of Pipeline Services. “Their reputation and prominence in the market will serve us well in growing our business segments and product offerings. We look forward to exploring synergies and growth opportunities with ADS.” Severn Trent Services is a leading supplier of water and wastewater treatment solutions. ADS LLC develops and provides technology-based products and services for the water, wastewater, and hydroelectric industries through two divisions, ADS Environmental Services and Accusonic Technologies. ADS pioneered the industry's first flow monitoring hardware and software products 31 years ago, and today continues to provide the highest quality products and services to its clients. The Company is headquartered in Huntsville, AL, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nova Technologies. For more information visit www.adsenv.com or call ADS at 800-633-7246.

Aluminum dross and salt cake wastes have caused considerable problems within an Ohio landfill. A preliminary geomembrane cap has been used to control odor on roughly one-fourth of the site while the gas generation and heat within the cell are being monitored. Additionally, a berm has been constructed to halt horizontal migration of the cell and its leachate. The dangerous waste is no longer being accepted. Future landfill designs may benefit from the unfortunate misuse of this site. Learn more here.;

Thank you for your patience. The updates we were performing on our server last week took a little longer than we expected. We are pleased to be back to full speed again to bring you all the latest geonews!

Colbond is now a gold-level sponsor for the 5th International Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities conference, awards and trade show. The event will be held April 29 - May 1 in Minneapolis. Visit the conference Web site at the link below. Learn more here.;

Land and Water's Erosion and Sediment Control Network (escn.tv) top stories for this week are: ARS Device Used To Ensure Efficacy of Levees; Indianapolis To Pay Fine For Sewer Overflows; Tip of the Week - Becoming a CPESC pt.2 and; Halloween Fun - Scary Erosion Control Facts. Learn more here.;