Award of Excellence: Providence Design and Manufacturing in Shreveport, LA. Three uniquely shaped four-celled flexible tube structures were manufactured and installed behind the Sans Souci Condominiums in Pensacola, FL., to protect the beach and buildings from long-term erosion of beach sand. The shape dissipates the energy of incoming ocean waves, preventing movement of the structure in heavy storms. The structure aims to prevent future catastrophic erosion while allowing natural sand to redeposit. The units are 61, 51.8, and 56.4 meters (200, 170, and 185 feet) in length, the average weight of each being 2t (4500 pounds) for a total fabricated weight of The Project Manager and Designer was Jay Sample, Advanced Coastal Technology (ACT), and the fabrics used were PVC-coated polyester by Cooley Group and Protectshield by Twitchell Corp.

TRI/Environmental (Austin, TX, USA) and British Textile Technology Group (BTTG) Laboratories (Didsbury, England) are jointly performing a testing program to certify geosynthetic products for CE marking. Contact Sam Allen at TRI or Clarissa Austin at BTTG for more information.

We are happy to announce that our new headquarters has moved further north to the beautiful city of West Palm Beach. Our new contact information is as follows: 605 Belvedere, Suite 13 West Palm Beach, FL 33405 (tel) +1 561 655-2060 (fax) +1 561-655-9922

The Geosynthetic Materials Association's (GMA) Environmental Focus Group was formed to provide a forum and the opportunity to have constructive conversations about how the industry can work together on the perception of the industry and its products. Its most recent effort is the newly established Water Management Task Group. This notice is to make you aware of our efforts and to invite you to participate in the first full meeting, scheduled for April 29, 2003, Atlanta, GA.

The Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) welcomes entries for the 2003 International Achievement Awards, an annual world-class competition for specialty fabrics professionals. For more than 50 years, the International Achievement Awards competition has recognized outstanding contributions to the specialty fabrics industry. The 2003 competition offers an opportunity for professionals to shine a spotlight on their recent projects and garner global recognition. The awards competition is for all manufacturers or subcontractors of end products suitably described by one of the 26 competition categories. Project entries include photos of outstanding specialty fabric projects and descriptions of their unique and important characteristics. Entered projects must have been completed between July 1, 2001 and June 30, 2003. The deadline for submitting entries is July 1, 2003. The deadline for submitting entries is July 1, 2003. IFAI members may submit up to six free entries by May 1, 2003. Learn more here.;

TechFab India is in the process of setting up a plant for manufacturing PP woven Geotextiles in India. They are looking urgently for the availability of Sulzer Looms of width 213” for weaving PP mainly for geotextile applications with gsm from 80gsm upto 350 gsm. They are looking for looms with width of 213 inches with “R” or “RR” and preferably “D2” or “D12”, and are looking to buy attachments to manufacture geogrids to the looms. They are ready to place orders and take deliveries asap. They are also interested in having agreements/understandings for geotextile weaving technology.

Last month, a full-house audience of about 200 attended the IAGI discussion panel as a means to eliminate cutting destructive samples in geomembrane seams. Read about suggested actions that could be used to open up the frequency of destructive testing.

Announcements include: 1st African Young Geotechnical Engineers Conference (14-16 April '03, Swakopmund, Namibia), a 1-day Report-Back from Nice (27 February '03, between Durban and Pietermaritzburg at the Assagay Hotel), and Benefactor Highlights (I-Corp and the Gast family). Also included are three articles on Erosion Control, Evaporation Ponds, and Engineered Linings' Anchor Knob Sheets (AKS). newsletter (.pdf 923 KB)

Andrew Mills is now the plant manager for the Layfield Geosynthetics & Ind. Fabrics Ltd., Edmonton Plant. He and Greg Parrent are taking over for Sam Desnoyers (who started the plant in 1978) and Mitch Hillman. Desnoyers and Hillman have both moved on to other work outside of the company. This is most likely to be an interim position for Andrew while Layfield transitions from old to new! Andrew's contact information will remain the same.

Two examples of how everything can be planned right, yet still go wrong.