Erosion Control

Industry Overview

The erosion control industry includes manufacturers and distributors of erosion control products and contractors for erosion control services; total annual revenues aren't well-defined, but are probably less than $2 billion. All companies are privately held or are divisions of larger companies.

Competitive Landscape

Demand is driven by construction activity, especially of highways. The profitability of individual companies depends on the volume of work, because large equipment costs are fixed. Large companies have an advantage in being able to handle large contracts. Small companies can compete effectively by specializing in a particular control method or by serving a small geographical area.

Products, Operations & Technology

The industry provides products and services to prevent soil erosion due to wind and water in places where natural ground cover has been removed or damaged. Without natural ground cover, rain can rapidly wash dirt from construction sites into storm drains and eventually into rivers and wetlands, where silt is a major environmental problem. Major causes of soil erosion are agricultural plowing and tilling; highway and road construction; real estate development; strip mining; artificial landscaping (such as for golf courses and landfills); other engineering projects; and natural causes such as the actions of rivers and the ocean.

Erosion control solutions are either "hard," such as retaining walls and interlocking bricks, or "soft," such as regrowth of natural vegetation. The four major categories of erosion control products are biodegradable ground cover, permanent ground cover, soil stabilization, and periodic erosion control applications. Many companies provide erosion control plant seeds that provide final vegetation cover. Most firms concentrate on products that provide biodegradable temporary ground cover over raw soil until natural vegetation grows to provide permanent protection. Typical products are woven biodegradable organic mats and sprayed-on organic materials. In situations where a natural cover will be inadequate to control erosion, either because the slope of the land is too steep or because the concentration of wind or water attack is too strong, other products, including interlocking paving stones and nondegradable grid systems made from concrete or plastic, combine to provide permanent ground stabilization and cover.

Most erosion control products are designed to protect surface soil from erosion. However, bulk products like dry cement bags, sand and rock bags, wind fences, mats, and concrete members are intended to stabilize soil contours like sand dunes, golf course formations, and water runoff channels, and are usually placed under the soil surface. To protect soil on dirt roads, landfills, and construction sites, products such as cement and acrylic polymer sprays may be applied periodically to act as glues that prevent dust formation, while plastic fences and other temporary barriers prevent soil runoff during construction activities.

Temporary ground cover products, usually organic products like straw, wood chips, or other natural fibers that are mulched and slurried with water, and "tackifiers" (degradable organic glues), are sprayed over the target area with a hydroseeder (a truck with a large tank, a pump, and a fire-hose-type spray nozzle). The target area is topsoiled and seeded with the eventual ground cover plants. In some cases, the erosion-control product, fertilizer, and plant seed are mixed and sprayed in one application. The same types of cover products are also woven into mats or blankets (collectively called "geotextiles") and unrolled over the target area. Permanent (non-biodegradable) erosion control systems, such as interlocking paving stones, gravel nets, and cement or recycled plastic elements, are often applied in an open matrix pattern that allows natural ground cover to grow around, and eventually, over them.

In addition to hydroseeders, other large equipment includes hydromulchers that produce and spread a water-mulch mixture, and straw blowers that shred bales of hay into small pieces, mix them with a tackifier, and blow them onto the target area. This erosion control equipment (large manufacturers are Bowie Industries, FINN Corp., and Reinco), which typically costs over $200,000, is sold by farm equipment and construction equipment dealers.

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