The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) Region One and the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA), a division of Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) will co-locate the Geosynthetics Conference with the IECA Annual Conference in Kansas City, Mo., February 21-24, 2021. The combined conferences are anticipated to attract over 3,000 attendees and double the exhibition area for both associations.

 
"We're excited to leverage our resources to create a conference with increased significance for both industries," stated Samantha Roe, IECA executive director. "This collaboration will bring additional opportunities for industry awareness, growth and business diversification."

The IECA Annual Conference and Expo is the signature event for IECA. The conference provides technical training to professionals from over 100 sessions featuring top industry experts to help identify solutions and changes coming in the industry. The conference features one of the industry's largest expo halls featuring the most relevant products, services and solutions available in the market.

GMA's Geosynthetics Conference brings together professionals in all facets of the geotechnical industry to connect, network and discover new products and services on the show floor. Participants will experience short courses, plenary sessions, technical papers, roundtables and panel discussions sharing developments across the geotechnical, civil and geoengineering communities.

"By selecting Kansas City, all of North America will have easy access, bringing together thousands of industry professionals for opportunities to network, share information and display their latest products and innovation. Whether walking the show floor to see the newest products and services, networking to make connections with other industry professionals or expanding my knowledge in various classroom sessions, I always find multiple opportunities in attending the Geosynthetics Conference. I'm also excited to see the benefits of co-locating with IECA in action." said Fred Chuck, GMA executive council chairman.

GMA's Geosynthetics Conference 2015 in Portland, Ore. was co-located with IECA and turned out to be a great success for both shows. "The co-location of the Geosynthetics Conference in 2015 with the IECA brought together many practitioners and manufacturers in the geosynthetics and erosion control industries, which helped share knowledge on different engineering strategies and geosynthetic applications. I met many people in this well attended conference. I expect the next co-location of these two conferences in Kansas City, Mo. in 2021 will bring even more fruitful opportunities for knowledge sharing and collaboration." said John McCartney, Ph.D., PE, FASCE, professor and department chair, Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California San Diego.