Geosynthetics April/May 2020 - 52

GMA NEWS

By Andrew Aho
and Fred C. Chuck

GMA's early history
GMA is dedicated to
our members' success.
GMA actively identifies,
assesses, analyzes
and acts upon market
growth opportunities
and issues that affect
its member companies.
The activities of
the association are
proactive in nature and
center on five areas:
» Engineering support
» Business development
» Education
» Government relations
» Geosynthetics industry
recognition

Fred C. Chuck is the chair of
the GMA executive council.

Andrew Aho is vice president
of new business development
of IFAI. He was the managing
director of GMA from 2005
to 2012.

Division
Geosynthetics is the official
publication of the Geosynthetic
Materials Association.

By Andrew Aho

hroughout the history of geosynthetics, leaders have emerged who have significantly
affected the growth of the industry in North America. During the Geosynthetics
CASE STUDIES Conference in March in North Charleston, S.C., a few of the Geosynthetic
Materials Association (GMA) leaders had an opportunity to address the gathering and
recall their personal experiences and achievements when they chaired the GMA executive council.
The following is some of the back story of the early development of GMA and the industry
leaders who, guided by the growth of GMA, had a positive impact on the industry.
Geotextiles had been in use for about a decade when, in 1980, the Industrial Fabrics
Association International (IFAI) formed the Geotextile Division, representing the manufacturers of geotextiles. With the growth of the industry, IFAI began publishing GFR magazine
(now Geosynthetics magazine) with the first issue in the summer of 1983.
Demand for geomembranes has increased due to government regulations and the end
of open dumping of waste in the United States in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The geomembrane industry needed a place for trade association activities, and, in 1983, IFAI formed
the Geomembrane Division. Activities of both the Geotextile and Geomembrane Divisions
mostly involved the development of specifications and technical issues related to the materials. The Geotextile Division worked with the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and academic, state and federal government representatives to develop and revise the AASHTO M288 geotextile specifications. The Geomembrane
Division focused on the new Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations
and specifications for liners used in waste containment.
In 1997, the members of the two divisions voted to change the direction of the association to one of marketing geosynthetics and move away from the specification and technical
issues. That year IFAI merged the Geotextile Division and the Geomembrane Division to
form GMA. Joe Luna of Colbond was the initial chair of the GMA executive committee.
Other members who guided GMA were Gary Willibey of Amoco Fabrics and Fibers Co.,
Marc Theisen with Synthetic Industries, Dave Clarke with TC Mirafi, Giovanni Capra of
Tenax Corp. and Monte Thomas of TNS Advanced Technologies.
By 1998, GMA had 37 member companies including producers of geogrids and geocells.
That year GMA developed its first website, www.gmanow.com. Maccaferri North America
joined the GMA executive council later in 1998, and Massimo Ciarla proposed the development of GMA Mexico. Oscar Couttolenc was contracted to represent GMA Mexico from
his office in Mexico City.
Even though the association looked to move away from specifications and technical
issues, it remained embroiled in the development of specifications for geotextiles and
geogrids. The AASHTO subcommittee on Materials Technical Section E4 Task Force on
Geogrid/Geotextile Specifications requested that GMA help develop a further specification
for geotextiles and a separate specification for geogrids. The issue was controversial due to
the proprietary nature of the brands and materials. The result was the development of a white

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http://www.gmanow.com

Geosynthetics April/May 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Geosynthetics April/May 2020