December 2021

  • Published On: December 31, 2021

    By Michael Dickey, P.E., Director, Presto Geosystems Geocells at a mining site. Photograph courtesy of Presto Geosystems Mined materials are essential to our everyday lives. We use these valuable minerals in nearly every sector of the economy—they are necessary to construct roads and buildings, manufacture vehicles, build computers and generate electricity. Additionally, the mining industry [...]

  • Published On: December 29, 2021

    Installation of geotextile and GEOWEB panels. Photograph courtesy of Presto Geosystems In 2018, BNSF Orillia Railway began making extensive upgrades to its automotive distribution facility in Renton, Wash. The upgrades were required to support the increased demand for new automobiles. As new-car sales soared, so did the demand for rail capacity for vehicle shipments arriving [...]

  • Published On: December 28, 2021

    Fabricated geomembranes at a lithium mine in Chile. Photograph courtesy of the Fabricated Geomembrane Institute The Fabricated Geomembrane Institute (FGI) has issued this guideline to provide recommendations for installation and maintenance of fabricated geomembrane panels in desert environments, such as desert mining applications in North and South America. Guidelines for deploying geomembranes in elevated temperature [...]

  • Published On: December 27, 2021

    Photograph courtesy of Cirtex Aronia Park is a colorful new playground in South Auckland, New Zealand, that includes two multihued slides. The challenge arose with the specified topsoil thickness for the steep slope beneath the slides. There was a risk of the slope soil sliding off and requiring costly repair. Greenscene, the contractor, approached Cirtex [...]

  • Published On: December 24, 2021

    The International Geosynthetics Society (IGS), in accordance with its bylaws, will hold elections in 2022. IGS members will have the opportunity to elect nine council members, a president and a vice president. Each of the elected members will serve a four-year term, beginning on Sept. 3, 2022. The council is the governing body of the IGS, [...]

  • Published On: December 23, 2021

    Eastman Machine Company, a family-owned and operated business since 1888, has announced multiple executive staff promotions. With the new year, R. Trevor Stevenson will take on the role of president and Steven F. Calzi as chief operating officer. Stevenson’s career at Eastman started in 2004 as a technician and advanced to the executive team in [...]

  • Published On: December 23, 2021

    A 30-mil (0.8-mm) polyvinyl chloride (PVC) geomembrane with a 10-ounces-per-square-yard (339-g/m2) nonwoven geotextile cushion is installed for a stormwater/erosion control project in Harrisburg, Pa. Photograph courtesy of ACF Environmental The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) will sponsor a webinar, “Geomembranes in Hydraulic Applications (dams, canals, reservoirs, tunnels, pipes),” on Jan. 12, 2022, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 [...]

  • Published On: December 22, 2021

    Organizers of the Marine Fabricators Conference 2022, being held Jan. 13–15, 2022, at the Wild Dunes Resort, Isle of Palms, S.C., are seeking tips, how-to ideas and DIY techniques that benefit the marine fabrication industry. Qualified entries appear in Marine Fabricator magazine, and prizes for first, second and third place are presented at the Awards [...]

  • Published On: December 22, 2021

    Photograph courtesy Steve Lewis Woodhollow Dam in Austin, Texas, was built between April and December of 1979 to control flash flooding in an Austin, Texas, neighborhood. This first dam constructed of Reinforced Earth MSE Retaining Walls in the United States created a buzz in the community and even had a visit from the inventor of the [...]

  • Published On: December 21, 2021

    Industry veteran Steve Fredrickson is joining Rainier Industries as the National Sales Director for Rainier Shade. Frederickson has more than 25 years of experience in the textile industry, with several different companies. Most recently, he was sales director at Sattler Corp. "I started working with Rainier Industries in 1997; loved my time here and am [...]