The IFAI welcomes entries for the 2001 International Achievement Awards. The International Achievement Awards recognize the latest advancements in technical fabric design and manufacture in 29 categories. Entries will be displayed at IFAI Expo in Nashville, Tenn. On October 18-20, 2001 and winers will be featured in IFAI publications including: Industrial Fabric Products Review, Fabric Architecture, IFAI's Marine Fabricator, Geotechnical Fabrics Report and In Tents. DEADLINE for submitting entries: July 1, 2001. Entered projects must have been completed between July 1, 1999 and June 30, 2001. For a brochure and entry form contact: Rita Chuk-Petroskas, International Achievement Awards Manager, Industrial Fabrics Association International, Phone: 651-222-2508 or 800-225-1324, Fax: 651-631-9334, Email: awards@ifai.com. Web site: www.ifai.com

Brazil, Apr 18, 2001 (Gazeta Mercantil/SABI via COMTEX) -- Bidim, a company from BBA Nonwovens is reporting a 12% annual growth in the Brazilian market. In 2000 it claimed R$35mil turnover while in 1999 it reached R$29mil, and in 1998 R$25mil. According to its CEO in Brazil Mr Carlos Caldeira the company is investing to expand capacity at its plant based at Sao Jose do Campos, Sao Paulo state, which was acquired by Rhodia Ster in 1997 for R$40mil. For 2001 the plan is to destinate R$12mil for equipment acquisition. It will allow to increase production by 36%. It is currently estimated at 7,000 m tons per year. Bidim expects to reach R$37mil turnover in 2001. The Brazilian nonwoven textiles market is estimated at 100,000 m tons per year. Copyright (c) 2001, South American Business Information, All rights reserved

The UK Environmental Agency held a seminar titled "Landfill Engineering for a Brighter Future" to launch nine new Technical Guidance documents, five of which involved geosynthetics: 1. Geosynthetic Clay Liners, 2. Geomembranes, 3. Geotextiles, 4. Geomembrane Protection using the Cylinder Test and 5. Geophysical Testing of liners. All of these documents will soon be available on the EA web site on www.geosynthetica.net. Additional documents in the development stage include Quality Assurance, Permeability Testing, Impermeable Pavements, and Leachate Management. Bernard Myles made a presentation on BSI/CEN/ISO standards and strongly emphasized the legal requirements for engineers to comply with specifications established by CEN for the different geosynthetics used in different applications. The days of individual unique specifications are gone. Ian Peggs commented on international experiences with geomembrane performance, demonstrated the importance of SCR and OIT measurements for HDPE specifications, and introduced the Material Durability Factor. David Hall outlined the capabilities of the LandSim Release 2 computer model for assessing leakage from a landfill and its subsequent characteristics. Release 2 is also capable of handling a double composite lining system. Neil Dixon and Russell Jones made a concise presentation on the intricacies of interface shear strength measurements and the lessons learned from a number of waste and soil slippages around the world. The importance of dealing with "during-construction" conditions as well as final operating conditions was emphasized. Approximately 100 people attended the seminar, organized by Rob Marshall, at the Manchester University Conference Centre.

Geo Plastic would like for their own manufacturing needs, to purchase on regular bases (spunbond fabrics 1,0 oz/sq. yd.). If you have anything similar, plese send them your prices for this product and samples to: Geo Plastic International, 1560 N. Prospect Avenue, Suite 607, Milwaukee, WI, 53202. Fax #: 414-298-1542.

PVC makers should be able to find their way out of the darkness in the next couple of years, thanks to low global inventories and a recovery in demand growth. North American PVC producers were hammered in the second half of 2000 as demand plummeted and have faced tough business conditions in early 2001 as well, though they have been able to increase prices an average of 3 cents per pound. Smith, with Houston-based Chemical Market Associates Inc., said at his firm's World Petrochemical Conference that PVC will lead the petrochemical rebound, just as it was first to slide in 2000. "The fundamentals are all there for PVC to take off," Smith said.

High feedstock cost and slowing demand have highlighted the risks of the polyethylene market, leading some industry consultants to expect a decline in prices and profitability through the first half of 2002. With prices for natural gas - which provides the ethane to produce 70 percent of North American PE - at double their historic levels, producers are in a bind, even though they've raised prices successfully an average of 8 cents per pounds to date in 2001. Factoring in slower-than normal PE demand, courtesy of a slowing U.S. economy, darkens the picture even further for PE makers. Those conditions have led Howard Rappaport, an Industry analyst with Chemical Market Associates Inc. in Houston, to project lower prices for PE until mid-2002. U.S. operating rates are expected to follow the same pattern. Rappaport sees U.S. HDPE prices dropping into the mid-to high 30s in cents a pound by mid-2002, with LLDPE prices hitting the low 30s and LDPE prices dipping into the high 30s.

North American PP operating rates are expected to begin an uptick later this year, climbing from the low 80s in percentage to the mid-80s and staying there through 2002, according to Chemical Market Associates Inc. analyst Graham Harris in Houston. In North America alone, capacity has increased 30 percent since 1999, including almost 2 billion pounds this year from expansions by Dow Chemical Co., Formosa Plastics Corp. USA and others. North American PP prices have fallen steadily since mid-2000, and producers have seen little success with 3 cent-per-pound increase attempts that were slated for Feb. 1.

The Meeting and Registration information for the ASTM June Committee Week (June 24-29, 2001) in Norfolk, Virginia, is available on the ASTM web site at www.astm.org/COMMIT/WEEKINFO. At the ASTM web site under Technical Committees you will also find committee schedules as they become available. Please note we have added to our Meeting Notice a statement regarding dress and weather in Norfolk. ASTM has new technology that enables us to more efficiently provide meeting information on our web site, eliminating the traditional hard copy sent through the mail. If you do not have access to the Internet and/or require a hard copy mailed or faxed to you, please contact Felicia Otero in the Meetings Department: Email: fotero@astm.org Phone: 610-832-9706 Fax: 610-832-9669

Last year we introduced our new corporate identity with WEEKS Consulting and WEEKS Laboratories clearly identified as distinct parts of WEEKS Technical Services plc. The success of this strategy in giving each business its own persona and opportunity to develop has led us to formalise the arrangement by establishing two separate trading companies: WEEKS Consulting ltd, The Oasis, Newnham Court, Bearsted Road, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 5LH, Tel-01622 632-100 and WEEKS Laboratories, New Melbourne House, Canning Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 2RU, Tel-01622 679-951. Learn more here.;

Consumption of polyolefin textiles reached record levels in 2000, according to the latest study. European output now exceeds 3 billion a year. Market Perspectives of the European Polyolefin Textile Industry is an examination of the use of polypropylene and polyethylene textiles, showing quantities consumed by end-uses (such as floor coverings, hygiene, ropes, strapping, bulk containers and geotextiles) and by type of technology (including staple, monofilament, multifilament, split film and spun bond). Published by the European Association for Textile Polyolefins (EATP) the study also highlights both the short-term (1999-2000) and the longer term (1992-1999) trends in consumption. Learn more here.;