A letter from GRI certifies SL Ltda. as the only manufacturer to date with GM 13 quality smooth product. This is an exclusive certification. The textured sheet will also be accredited shortly.

The project in Israel used HDPE made by Ginegar and installed by Admir Technologies to encapsulate expansive soils. Road 6 is the largest infrastructure project in the history of the State of Israel, and is costing $1.3 billion.

Have you seen it? The music video made in a very large empty lined facility using the slopes as a long belly-surfing waterslide not just for humans, but for dogs as well. Then we have the skateboards - and the band in the middle of the floor - with NO protective sheet under drum tripods etc! Ouch. Geomembrane liners have finally made it! Seen in Israel so may not be in North America yet.

Having officially opened its Malaysian facility this November, Fibertex is one of seven companies in Malaysia producing nonwoven materials for filtration.

We welcome the Landfill Systems & Technologies Research Association of Japan to geosynthetica.net. Read about the association and see examples of landfilling and leachate treatment systems in Japan.

The International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) has a bi-annual Student Awards program, whereby the successful candidate from each IGS Chapter is invited and sponsored to attend one of the two IGS regional conferences in 2004, i.e., EuroGeo3 and or GeoAsia 2004. The IGS Student Award is for an amount of US$1 000 per chapter, which is to be used to cover conference participation costs (i.e., registration fees, travel, accommodation etc). GIGSA will contribute a matching amount of US$1 000 to the successful candidate. The award recipient is expected to submit a written report on the regional conference within 30 days of attending the conference. GIGSA would therefore like to select a suitable candidate to represent the South African Chapter of the IGS at one of the regional conferences in 2004. Criteria for selection are the following: 1) The candidate should be preferably be an MSc or PhD student involved in geosynthetics. 2) The candidate must not be older than 35 years of age in 2004. 3) The candidate should be interested and actively involved in the science of geosynthetics. 4) The candidate must be a paid up member of GIGSA. Nominations are now invited from suitable candidates for the IGS Student Award. Nominations are to be submitted together with a written motivation not exceeding one A4 page to the President of GIGSA by close of business on Monday 1 December 2003. Selection of the successful candidate for the award will be carried out by the GIGSA Committee during December 2003. The decision of the GIGSA Committee will be final, and no correspondence will be entered into thereafter. The IGS will be notified of the name of the award recipient nominee before 31 January 2004.

Why do we do CQA? Because, here is what can happen if you don't!

Many of you geo-folks have enquired about Alice Comer over the last year or two. Alice was with the Bureau of Reclamation for a number of years working with materials and canal lining. She certainly became a full fledged geo-gal during that time. After her tenure with the Bureau she and her family moved to Katy, Texas - Alice did a quick stint in the commercial end of geosynthetics and then moved on quietly into the night. Well we found her and are glad to report that she is healthy and happy working now with Houston's petroleum industry. Alice has opened another chapter in her career and is enjoying all of the new networking and learning. She says hello to the geo-friends and says that she is available for consulting if there is any opportunity.

IGS News Letter Editor and Project Coordinator for the eQUIP Task Force, Karina Labinaz, has returned to her maiden name, McInnis. She requests that she be contacted through her new e-mail address: mcinnis@post.queensu.ca for all future correspondence. Her old address is still valid but will only be checked periodically.

IFAI is conducting a wage and benefit survey of industry manufacturers. For the first time since 1999, the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) is conducting a wage and benefit survey of end-product manufacturers in the specialty fabrics industry. Specialty fabrics end-product manufacturers are invited to complete the confidential survey online at www.ifai.com beginning Dec. 1, 2003. The survey also will be distributed with the January 2004 issue of the Industrial Fabric Products Review. Survey questions will gather data on company salaries, benefits and policies. Participants who complete the survey by the Feb. 27, 2004 deadline will receive a 25 percent discount on the price of the complete study results. All survey participants will be eligible for drawings for a free one-year membership to IFAI and a free registration to IFAI Expo 2004. The survey will focus on end-product manufacturers who do business in areas such as awnings, athletic products, banners, boat covers, inflatable recreational products, safety and protective products, signs, tarps, tents and truck covers. Data from the survey will be compiled and analyzed by product category, geographic region and company size. The published study, which will be available through the IFAI Bookstore in March 2004, will enable businesses to determine how they compare to others in the industry. IFAI 2004 Wage and Benefit surveys will be kept confidential. The published study will contain only summary information; no specific company information will be included. IFAI is a not-for-profit trade association whose member companies represent the international specialty fabrics marketplace. For more information, or to request a copy of the Wage and Benefit Survey, contact Robin Simoson, IFAI Market Research Manager, at +(1) 651/225-6946; e-mail rmsimoson@ifai.com. For up-to-date information, visit www.ifai.com.