The need for green When it comes to erosion control products and methodologies, the "green theme" is more than an ankle-biting social movement — it's the trend that's influencing the business strategies of expert manufacturers.
To address this prevailing need, companies such as North American Green and Profile Products LLC are rolling out top-shelf solutions that are both tangible and educational.
"With so much activity in the LEED program and environmentally sustainable building, erosion control blankets, hydraulic mulches, turf reinforcement mats, and sediment retention fiber rolls are being used to cost-effectively control sediment and vegetate building sites," said Tim Lancaster, president of North American Green.
Lancaster said a solid approach to vegetation is the glue that bonds environmental functionality with pleasing aesthetics, and to those ends, the company continues to focus its portfolio and launch new products.
One of those recent launches is the BioSC 100-percent biodegradable straw wattle product. Lancaster said this new product provides natural control of sediment on job sites without the problems sometimes associated with poly-netted fiber rolls. Other products of focus are the HydraMatriCx high-performance, hydraulically applied products, which contain a 100-percent natural blend of straw and reclaimed cotton plant fibers, for immediate erosion control and revegetation of project sites.
Like North American Green, Profile Products is working to meet the vegetation demands of the industry — an industry which Technical Service Director Michael Robeson, M.S., P.E., CPESC, CPSWQ, said is without sufficient tools to tackle each stage of the erosion control process. "The key is understanding what your local vegetation needs are, and applying those needs in your design," said Robeson, who added that more people are looking for assistance with essential variables such as climate, drought and disease tolerance, rainfall, and slope.
To help manage this process and educate at the same time, Profile is introducing Profile Soil Solutions Software (PS3), a free online service which the company describes as "the industry's first and only web-based design and selection tool that integrates erosion and sediment control engineering with agronomic excellence."
Robeson said this software allows users to do free soil-testing, and then to make more informed decisions based on soil properties, followed by vegetation selection, design guidance, and the project goal: notice of termination.
When it comes to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiatives affecting business, both North American Green and Profile Products agreed that the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II has impacted the industry significantly. Because of regulations required on project sites, Lancaster said North American Green's products are being used on more projects than ever before. Looking down the road, Robeson pointed to the next phase of the NPDES, which has been rumored to include turbidity limits — something Robeson said drives Profile's business.
Stepping back and looking at the industry in motion, both Lancaster and Robeson agreed that business has been affected by the dearth of private-sector work, but both companies are pursuing opportunities in other sectors and markets, while also pursuing work made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
North American Green www.nagreen.com
Profile Products www.profileproducts.com
Weathering the storm As with companies specializing in erosion control, leading manufacturers in stormwater management are feeling the squeeze in the private sector and looking for opportunities to expand into the public sector. "Now with the stimulus money filtering to the states, we expect this trend to not only continue but to escalate as well," said Mike Bernauer, P.E., vice president with CONTECH Constructions Products Inc.'s stormwater division.
As the industry battles the downturn and looks for new ways to get projects off the shelf, some of the best companies will continue pushing to offer new solutions to engineers and transportation professionals.
"Although this is the biggest downturn that we've seen since the Great Depression, we're mindful of the situation and being judicious," said Joseph A. Chlapaty, chairman and CEO of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (ADS). He added that the company has continued to introduce new stormwater management products to the marketplace.
ADS has launched a new type of pipe, called N-12 HP (High Performance), for sanitary and storm sewer applications. According to the company, this new pipe couples the most advanced resin technology with highly engineered profile designs, and results in a product with significantly greater pipe stiffness, beam strength, and enhanced service life performance.
Trends in environmental regulations influence development at ADS, and according to the company, engineers continue to specify the use of HDPE pipe for its high performance and watertight joints.
CONTECH has a fluid pipeline of new products and services throughout its portfolios, and the company is working to address new trends, such as the low impact development (LID) movement. According to Bernauer, the LID movement has given CONTECH new direction considering stormwater, and led to the launching of a new brand of products called UrbanGreen.
"The flagship product in the UrbanGreen brand is the UrbanGreen Biofilter," said Bernauer, who added that though the BioFilter will complement any site design, it's developed specifically for LID sites.
"The UrbanGreen BioFilter is an enhanced stormwater inlet biofiltration system that combines nature's ability to treat stormwater through the use of infiltration into a modified tree box incorporating an engineered soil mix, with the proven performance of our StormFilter media cartridges," Bernauer said. "This combination of biological and engineered media filtration create the perfect balance for the removal of common pollutants found in stormwater runoff."
ADS www.ads-pipe.com
CONTECH www.contech-cpi.com
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