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Tensar arranges Australian distribution for mining geosynthetics
Tensar International announced June 15, 2018, that Chris Taylor of C&C Taylor Enterprises (CCTE) has agreed to become the exclusive distributor agent for Tensar Underground Mining Products in Australia. For more than 40 years, Taylor has worked in various mining industry roles, from the shop floor to director, and has experience working in various production positions in the U.K., U.S. and Australia. He also has been a Longwall mining consultant since 1999, operating in the U.K., U.S., Australia, China, Russia, India, France and Germany.
CCTE will distribute Tensar TriAx, Biaxial and Uniaxial geogrids for mines and tunnels; Tensar Mesh, a metal alternative; and Tensar Mining Grids for roof meshing and rib control.
SKAPS Industries acquires Matrix Composites
SKAPS Industries of Athens, Ga., completed an agreement on May 1, 2018, to acquire Matrix Composites of Henderson, Ky., and Seguin, Texas. The acquisition includes all Matrix Composites technologies, operations and assets, SKAPS said in a prepared statement.
Matrix Composites Inc. was started in 1993 in Henderson to produce woven fiberglass fabrics. Under the ownership of Don Hudson, Matrix expanded with a second factory in Seguin, which was built in 2002.
SKAPS Industries was founded by Perry Vyas in 1996. SKAPS fabricates geosynthetic and nonwoven drainage products for environmental and civil use in the U.S. and abroad. SKAPS serves markets in more than 60 countries.
The acquisition is the first for SKAPS Industries in North America.
GMA expands member educational benefits
The Geosynthetics Materials Association (GMA) announced June 23, 2018, an agreement with the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI), bringing new educational benefits to GMA members.
“The Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) has agreed to publicize the Geosynthetic Institute’s (GSI) online webinars and courses and, as such, will be giving its members the same discounted fees as with GSI members,” Dr. Robert M. Koerner, founder and director emeritus of GSI, said. “Presently, there are 27 webinars and 3 courses, all of which are on various geosynthetic topics. They generally cover applications, design, testing, installation or field performance.”
The discounted fees apply to all GMA member companies and their employees. GSI will host the next webinar, “Geosynthetics in Erosion Control,” on Oct. 10, 2018.
For more information about and to register for GSI’s webinars, visit www.geosynthetic-institute.org/webinar.htm.
For more information about and to register for GSI’s courses, visit www.geosynthetic-institute.org/courses.htm.
AASHTO’s executive director to retire
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) announced May 24, 2018, that Executive Director Frederick G. “Bud” Wright will retire at the end of 2018.
“AASHTO is a wonderful place to work,” Wright said in a prepared statement from AASHTO. “In my experience—and that experience working in transportation now spans more than 43 years—you will at some point feel the moment. And I am feeling that moment. . . . This is very bittersweet for me, but I am proud of where we are as an association, and I prefer the idea of leaving maybe too soon rather than too late.”
Wright was appointed as the seventh executive director of the nearly 104-year-old association in November 2012. Prior to joining AASHTO, Wright was a consultant based in Alexandria, Va. Wright also served as executive director of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) from 2001 to 2008, assisting the administrator in establishing policies, programs and priorities for the $40 billion annual federal-aid highway program. Between 1975 and 2002, Wright held several positions with FHWA, and he served as director of the Office of Budget and Finance, staff member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a member of the National Transportation Policy Team.