IAGI Annual Meeting Highlights 2015The IAGI Annual Meeting was held in conjunction with Geosynthetics 2015 in Portland, OR. IAGI President, Todd Harman, Hallaton, Inc. addressed the standing room only crowd and recognized the IAGI Board of Directors for their time and commitment; including First Vice President Brady Maxwell, DDT Liners; 2nd Vice President Nicky Araujo, Servicios de Ingenieria Geosintetica, S.A.; Treasurer Chris Eichelbergem, Agru America; IAGI Directors; Dave McLaury, Demtech Services; John Heap, Colorado Lining Company; Bill Shehane, Seaman, Corp; and John McElhatton, Scorpion Plastics. “Our goal, said Harman, “is to support and enhance IAGI member companies dedicated to keeping the bar high and holding ourselves to that standard. As a board we have been actively working to fortify this goal.” He tied together the three areas that IAGI membership provides it members that keep industry standards high.
IAGI’s Approved Installation Contractor (AIC) recognizes geosynthetic installation companies that meet a minimum level of professionalism, ethics and business practices. Harman emphasized to attendees that “you are not going to get the AIC leads if you aren't on the AIC list; we are getting specifications written around it, so I urge you to get on the list.” He added, “The Certified Welders Training (CWT) certification verifies that the welders on a job have experience in geomembrane welding and meet industry standards of skill for those geomembranes they are certified in; and the IAGI Installation Awards recognize those IAGI members who make significant contributions to the field of geosynthetics installation.” Harman reported that the IAGI membership is strong with 136 member companies worldwide. The IAGI 2014 accomplishments were significant and included the publication of three installation guidelines including:
In addition the IAGI Board Meeting held in Australia in conjunction with the Specialized Textiles Association (STA) annual conference resulted in an alliance with STA. STA has agreed to distribute CWT exams for IAGI thereby able to provide service to IAGI members faster. Harman reported that Max Brady (DDT Liners) has been instrumental in making this happen. IAGI has also added two key seam test laboratories: TRI Geosynthetic Testing and Services (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., (TRI-China) located in Suzhou, China, in close proximity to Shanghai and TRI Australasia Pty Ltd., located in Gold Coast, Australia. Harman noted that the support services offered by both laboratories will benefit IAGI members immensely as the CWT program continues to grow throughout Asia and the South Pacific. Dave McLaury, Demtech Services gave the CWT update. He reminded attendees that IAGI’s Certified Welding Technician (CWT) program recognizes the knowledge, experience and skill of those technicians who hold the certification. McLaury reported that the number of CWT tests continues to increase.
Harman ended the meeting by thanking attendees for supporting IAGI, saying “IAGI members and the services offered by IAGI set the world standard for installation professionalism.”
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