In this issue: news highlights, publications and conference updates.
A great many projects are on-going here at geosynthetica.net. We’re about to launch a site remodel, on which our colleague David Cabrera has worked feverishly; Elizabeth Peggs is off to visit the EuroGeo 4 event in Edinburgh (as well as serve as a Council member for the International Geosynthetics Society [IGS]); Chris Kelsey is off to Copper Mountain, Colorado shortly for the Global Waste Management Symposium (GWMS 2008); and so much more.
Turns out, we’re just like everyone else in the field!
These are busy days. So:
* We opened the week with a feature box story on North American Green‘s wonderful website redesign. The clean, new look offers a number of new pages, including a wonderfully expanded technical resources portion. Also of note: the hydraulically applied erosion control products (HydraMatriCx) section and the composite turf reinforcement mats (Vmax3) pages. We also updated our links to the company’s product data and spec sheets via their page here at geosynthetica.net.
* Ian Peggs of I-CORP INTERNATIONAL provided a companion piece to Glenn Darilek and Daren Laine’s article “Geoelectric Leak Location Surveys: the Superior Alternative to Water Balance Testing,” which was published on geosynthetica.net on 15 August 2008. Read the piece from Peggs and see the photographic evidence.
* Propex Inc. announced the appointment of Stan Brant to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Read more on Brant’s work in the release.
* Also regarding Propex Inc., the company gifted the village of Lake Delton, Wisconsin $100,000 worth of erosion control products to help with some key projects. It’s a fantastic gesture on Propex’s part.
* Firestone added another date to its successful series of PondGard EPDM Geomembrane Installation Training sessions. A Tucker, Georgia session will be offered on October 21. Some seats are still available for the September 10 session in Uniontown, Ohio. Register online today.
* The Green Walls Group (GWG) of the non-profit association Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) announced an extension to its request for proposals (RFP) for green wall research projects. The new deadline is 13 October 2008. Green walls are the next stage in construction following the growing success of green roofs. Read more in the PDF release.
* Milliken acquired the fire-retardant barriers and geotextile businesses of Western Nonwovens. The geotextile portions of the business include Western’s Sandmat product line, which is used mostly in golf course construction and remediation work.
* Russia based SIBUR Holding announced that two of its subsidiaries, Orton OJSC (based in Kemerovo) and Plastik OJSC (Uzlovaya), have signed procurement contracts for equipment to be used in the manufacture of geosynthetic materials. Nonwoven geotextiles and geonets will be produced. The company aims to be at full production by 2010.
* Also in Russian news, the Russian infrastructure explosion offers tremendous opportunity. Karl Mayer and Karl Menzel, a German maker of geosynthetics manufacturing machines published an August 2008 news piece on geosynthetics demand in Russia.
* ASTM International‘s 25 August 2008 update included standards and work items from Committees D13 on Textiles, D20 on Plastics, D34 on Waste Management, and F17 on Plastic Piping Systems.
* Land and Water‘s 27 August 2008 broadcast from the Erosion and Sediment Control Network included stories on responding to the 2007 Southern California wild fires, American Excelsior‘s newest turf reinforcement product, Alameda Point’s remediation, and American Excelsior in a second spotlight story.
* Resin prices for August remained high on the indexes.
* Erosion Control magazine launched a revamped website with interactive content, articles from the magazine, and an e-newsletter. The editors also offered readers a chance to win a 16-gigabyte iPhone.
* Tailings and Mine Waste ’08 will take place in Vail, Colorado from 19-21 October 2008. geosynthetica.net readers will be very interested in one of the event’s key sessions: “Liners, Covers and Barriers.”
* Two earnings reports to a
nnounce: Netherlands-based Royal Ten Cate–of which TenCate Geosynthetics in North America is part–has reported significant growth for 2008; and Raven Industries, which has a very strong geosynthetics and engineered films division, reported 17% growth in the second quarter.
* Officials in India began looking at the geotextile bag flood control devices that were used in the United States following Hurricane Katrina as possible solutions for flood response in India. The country has been experiencing plenty of flooding this year, and last year the Bihar region suffered more than 1200 deaths during floods.
* And on Friday we found plenty of geosynthetic materials appearing in the general news media, including the completion of Ann Arbor’s geogrid-reinforced road project, the city of Cumberland’s receipt of paving fabric funding, and the role protective geotextiles have played in the restoration of a Spanish castle.
* As noted above, Ian Peggs of I-CORP INTERNATIONAL provided a companion piece to Glenn Darilek and Daren Laine’s article “Geoelectric Leak Location Surveys: the Superior Alternative to Water Balance Testing."
* Canada’s largest legal professionals recruitment firm, ZSA, published a short piece from Golder Associates’ Ian Hers on vapour mitigation, brownfield redevelopment and how service sector construction must cope with an industrial business past.
* The Global Waste Management Symposium (GWMS 2008), which will be held on 7-10 September 2008 at Copper Mountain, Colorado, announced that it was on the verge of selling out attendee spots. Only 40 seats remained as of August 27.
* The Business Co-ordination House (BCH) of India and India-Tech Foundation will hold a one-day symposium, “Geotextiles in India: What, Where and Why,” on 17 October 2008. The event will be held in conjunction with CONSTRU India 2008.
* Firestone added another date to its successful series of PondGard EPDM Geomembrane Installation Training sessions. A Tucker, Georgia session will be offered on October 21. Some seats are still available for the September 10 session in Uniontown, Ohio. Register online today.
* We added more events to the calendar database, including:
19-22 October 2008
Tailings and Mine Waste ’08 – Vail, Colorado
A key session of this event focuses on “Liners, Covers and Barriers”
MECA 2009 – St. Louis Park, Minnesota, United States
The 20th gathering of the Minnesota Erosion Control Association
ACE 09 – San Diego, California, United States
The Annual Convention and Exposition (ACE) from the American Water Works Association (AWWA)
* And a reminder: the Canadian Waste & Recycling Expo (CWRE 2008) is has issued its VIP registration information for geosynthetica’s readers. The event takes place 5-6 November 2008 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and will highlight the latest technologies and materials being used in the ever-merging sectors of waste and recylcing management. Also: view an information PDF for the event.
* geosynthetica is now a partner to forthcoming conferences in Scotland, the United States (2 events), India (2 events), Canada and Germany. We look forward to involvement in other events too. Please send us your recommendations.
Other Week in Review Columns
* 17-23 August 2008
* 10-16 August 2008
* 3-9 August 2008
* 27 July-2 August 2008
* 20-26 July 2008
* 13-19 July 2008
Chris Kelsey is a consulting editor for geosynthetica.net. He can be reached at chris@geosynthetica.net.
