A geomembrane is an important member of the geosynthetics family, a continuous flexible membrane material made of one or more polymer synthetic materials.
It mainly plays the role of anti-seepage and isolation. The more common ones are high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembrane and low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) geomembrane.
Of course, there are also newly developed composite geomembranes, which are a product that combines geomembranes and geotextiles.
In this article, QIVOC introduces the following major global geomembrane liner manufacturers and suppliers (in no particular order) based on relevant information from the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS), the Geosynthetics Institute (GSI) and Geosynthetics Magazine, and also refers to the official website information of relevant companies.
However, it is incredible that there is not a single Chinese geomembrane manufacturer among these dozen geomembrane companies.
Now let us take a look at the best HDPE/LLDPE geomembrane liner manufacturers and suppliers in the world in 2024.
1. AGRU (United States)
AGRU Americas, Inc. is backed by more than 30 years of experience, innovation, quality and service to produce premium geosynthetics for the market.
Since 1988, AGRU Americas, Inc., headquartered in Georgetown, South Carolina, USA, has been a world-renowned manufacturer of flat extruded geomembranes, geonets, geocomposites and geotextiles.
It also provides bentonite blankets (GCL), specialty geomembranes for concrete protection, flexible vertical barrier systems and systems to the international market.
As the first manufacturer in the United States to produce HDPE geomembranes and LLDPE geomembranes using the flat extrusion process.
AGRU Americas, Inc.’s continued research and development has produced a variety of new products to meet the needs of geotechnical engineers and project designers.
This includes the most advanced large diameter HDPE pipe and geomembrane series, such as AGRU Smooth Liner®, MicroSpike®, and DrainLiner®, a drainage geomembrane for double-walled landfills, heap leach sites and lagoons.
Another specialty geomembrane used for landfill covers and enclosures, Super Gripnet®, combines drainage studs with a tapered grip layer on both sides.
2. AKS (South Africa)
AKS Anti-Seepage Systems in Cape Town, South Africa, produces HDPE/LLDPE geomembranes under the brand Geoliner® using a flat extrusion process. The geomembranes are 7m wide and 1-3mm thick and can be customized to project requirements, taking into account installation requirements, roll length, truck and container loading configurations.
For easy product identification, tracking and traceability, all products have individually coded labels.
During the production process of geomembranes, each roll of film is marked with a roll number and length scale to facilitate on-site construction.
In addition, Geoliner® can produce geomembranes that meet reflective requirements and conductive properties using co-extrusion.
Geoliner® geomembranes are available in glossy, rough or super rough surfaces, and can be single or double rough.
AKS is ISO 9001:2015 certified and follows a strict code of conduct to ensure product quality.
Well-equipped laboratories ensure that all geomembranes produced meet or exceed international standards such as GRI-GM13 (HDPE), GRI-GM17 (LLDPE) and South African industry standard SANS 1526.
3. ATARFIL (Spain)
ATARFIL was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Granada, Spain.
ATARFIL uses an independently developed advanced flat extrusion process to produce various high-performance geomembranes.
The product range includes high-density polyethylene HDPE, linear low-density polyethylene LLDPE, ultra-low-density polyethylene VLDPE and polypropylene PP, which are professionally used in various anti-seepage systems.
ATARFIL has production plants in Europe (Granada, Spain), the Middle East (Dubai, UAE) and the Americas (Virginia, USA).
There are sales offices and business operation centers in Spain, the UAE, the United States, Mexico, Turkey, India, South Africa and Australia.
Activities are spread across five continents and customers are in more than 50 countries. ,
In recent years in China, the use of ATARFIL geomembranes in various anti-seepage projects has shown a significant upward trend.
ATARFIL’s factories in three continents are equipped with multiple advanced flat extrusion production lines, all of which are equipped with online thickness control systems, and the thickness tolerance can be controlled at ±3%.
ATARFIL geomembrane has an environmental stress cracking resistance time of more than 3,000 hours, which is particularly suitable for use in harsh environments and applications such as tailings and hazardous waste landfills that require high chemical corrosion resistance.
To ensure quality traceability and facilitate construction, ATARFIL prints brand specifications, roll numbers and length scales along the edge of each roll of geomembrane it produces, so that the roll length can be confirmed and the product source can still be traced by roll number after the packaging is damaged.
4. ENGEPOL (Brazil)
Founded in 1991, ENGEPOL is located in Rio Grande do Sul, Canoas, Brazil. It is a pioneer in the field of HDPE/LLDPE geomembrane manufacturing in Latin America and the only company in Latin America that uses flat extrusion to produce geomembranes.
ENGEPOL’s geomembranes have been recognized by major corporate customers in Brazil and around the world, and its products are sold in 25 countries.
ENGEPOL has a network of certified installers, highly qualified, certified by the International Association of Geotechnical Installers (IAGI), and a technical team to provide services and technical support for geomembrane installation and construction, and can provide services to customers at any time.
5. HUITEX (Taiwan, China)
HUITEX is located in Tainan, Taiwan and has been a leading geosynthetics manufacturer in the Asia Pacific region since the 1990s.
HUITEX has built a reliable reputation by providing consistent quality products to customers around the world.
HUITEX is a member of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS), the International Industrial Textiles Association (IFAI), the Geosynthetics Association (GMA) and the International Association of Geosynthetics Installers (IAGI).
HUITEX geomembranes have been sold to more than 50 countries and the number is still increasing.
HUITEX is ISO 9001 and 14001 certified and has 3 blown film production lines for HDPE/LLDPE smooth and rough geomembranes.
It can manufacture high-quality geomembranes, geocells, concrete protection liners for major geotechnical applications such as landfills, wastewater treatment, tunnels, waterproofing, mining projects and slope protection.
Among them, HUITEX reinforced HDPE geomembrane is developed for the most demanding applications, aiming to separate polluted wastewater such as coalbed methane wastewater from surrounding rural areas and underlying aquifers.
6. HYMA (Egypt)
Hyma is a manufacturer of HDPE and LLDPE geomembranes.
Founded in 1976 in Cairo, Egypt, Hyma has its own in-house laboratory to ensure the continuity of material and product quality.
Hyma is fully compliance certified and carries out ISO 9001, ISO 14001, TRI, SGS and CE certifications.
Hyma is a major manufacturer in the African and Middle Eastern markets and exports to Europe and Asia.
The Hyma product range includes HDPE and LLDPE smooth and rough geomembranes, as well as colored geomembranes, high temperature resistant geomembranes, HDPE welding rods, etc.
Hyma geomembranes are suitable for large applications that require UV and ozone resistance, chemical corrosion resistance or high-quality installation. The HDPE and LLDPE geomembranes produced exceed the GRI-GM13 and GRI-GM17 international standards respectively.
7. JUTA (Czech Republic)
Founded in 1946, the Czech brand JUTA has become one of the world’s leading producers of industrial fibers and synthetic products.
JUTA’s main technical processes are to extrude polymers, produce geomembrane membranes, fibers, knitted fabrics and twine, and then process them into high-quality products for various purposes.
JUTA geomembrane brand is JUNIFOL®, which is produced by flat extrusion process and has three types of high-density polyethylene HDPE, linear low-density polyethylene LLDPE and thermoplastic polyolefin TPO.
JUNIFOL® has two widths of 5.1m and 8.0m, and the thickness ranges from 0.6mm to 3.0mm.
The surface can be smooth, single rough or double rough.
The standard color of the geomembrane is black, and various colors can be provided according to project requirements.
JUNIFOL® geomembrane has excellent chemical corrosion resistance and mechanical properties. Resistant to microorganisms and fungi, it can serve as an effective barrier to plant root growth and gas leakage (such as methane and radon).
8. MACCAFERRI (Italy)
Headquartered in Italy, MACCAFERRI has a history of more than 140 years.
As a global company, Maccaferri has more than 70 subsidiaries on 5 continents, offices in more than 100 countries, and more than 3,000 employees.
MACCAFERRI does not simply sell products, but strives to provide leading technical solutions for designing and advancing challenging projects. The company is firmly committed to providing better technical and engineering solutions to solve customers’ problems through dedicated listening, innovation and collaboration.
MACCAFERRI provides different types of geotechnical materials.
As early as the 19th century, MACCAFERRI invented “gabion” (stone cage mesh).
The geomembrane produced by MACCAFERRI is branded MacLine®. MacLine® SDH is a double-smooth HDPE geomembrane.
MacLine® MH & RDH is a high-density rough geomembrane with a rough sandpaper surface.
Among them, Macline RDH is double rough and RMH is single rough, and the performance is similar to the standard smooth product.
In addition, MacLine® W is a HDPE reinforced geomembrane, which is made of high-density polyethylene filament woven geotextile as the core layer and covered with polyethylene film on both the top and bottom surfaces.
This material is very light but has extremely high mechanical strength.
9. Megaplast (India)
Megaplast was founded in 2007. In 2014, Megaplast began to produce geomembrane products with an annual production capacity of 24,000 tons.
Megaplast uses advanced film blowing equipment produced by Luigi Bandera Group of Italy. The thickness of geomembrane products is controlled by ±5%; the size is controlled by ±1%.
The width is 8m, and the thickness ranges from 0.5mm to 3.0mm.
It can produce HDPE geomembrane, LLDP geomembrane, two-color and color geomembrane, conductive geomembrane and other products, with performance better than GRI-GM13 and GRI-GM17 international standards.
Megaplast specializes in the production of geomembranes and membrane materials, and advanced laboratories ensure strict manufacturing quality.
The company has an experienced sales and marketing team to provide technical support and after-sales service.
10. NAUE (Germany)
NAUE Fiber Technology of Germany was founded in 1984. In 1993, NAUE Anti-seepage Engineering was established to enter the landfill construction field.
In 1996, it acquired the geomembrane business from a tunnel engineering company, under the brand name Carbofol®.
In 2000, NAUE used a flat extrusion process to produce the world’s widest geomembrane at the time, with a width of 9.40 m.
In 2017, NAUE’s new plant in Festel was put into production to produce Carbofol® geomembranes.
Carbofol® is made of high-quality polyethylene resin and has various thicknesses and a width of 7.50 m.
For rough membranes used for slope anti-seepage, Carbofol® is produced using an embossing process.
The optimized BF/TF (bottom friction/top friction) embossing structure increases the shear strength against typical adjacent materials.
Both sides of the Carbofol® geomembrane have white edge markings for the recommended overlap area and as a visual aid during installation.
In addition, both edges are covered with thin protective sheets (~150mm wide), which are peeled off immediately before welding, so that the welding area remains absolutely clean.
The melt index (MFR) of Carbofol® HDPE geomembrane tested at 190°C/5kg is between 1 and 3g/10min, with a wide welding construction window.
11. SKAPS (USA)
SKAPS Industries uses extrusion technology to produce a variety of geosynthetics and industrial fabrics. Its products are widely used in civil, environmental or industrial engineering, and have a strong market influence in more than 60 countries.
SKAPS Industries’ factory in Georgia, USA uses two state-of-the-art production lines and the latest “blown film” technology to achieve customized production of high-quality HDPE and LLDPE geomembranes.
The thickness is 0.75mm to 3.0mm, and the surface is smooth, single rough or double rough; the color can be black, gray and white, and there are conductive geomembranes and ordinary geomembranes.
The roughness height can be adjusted according to design requirements to meet stringent anti-friction requirements.
The standard width is 7m, and the custom width can reach 8m, which was the widest rough geomembrane in North America at that time.
12. SOLMAX (Canada)
SOLMAX of Canada was founded in 1981.
In 2009, it set up a factory in Malaysia to produce HDPE/LLDPE geomembranes using blow molding.
At the end of 2017, SOLMAX introduced a strategic investment institution to acquire GSE, the world’s largest geosynthetics brand at the time.
SOLMAX produces a variety of geosynthetics for demanding applications from mining and various landfills to petrochemical, oil and gas industries and aquaculture industries.
The HDPE series geomembranes exceed the GRI-GM13 standard for HDPE geomembranes.
The high-temperature geomembrane series is designed to improve durability, integrity and service life in extreme temperature environments.
The LLDPE series geomembranes exceed the GRI-GM17 standard for LLDPE geomembranes.
SOLMAX’s high-performance LLDPE series has excellent flexibility and outstanding multi-axial tensile properties.
As introduced on the SOLMAX official website, after SOLMAX acquired GSE at the end of 2017, it used the combined brand Solmax-GSE in 2018.
In early 2019, SOLMAX announced that it would only use a single brand Solmax in all operating areas around the world.
In 2021, SOLMAX acquired TenCate to further strengthen its market position in the field of geosynthetics.
13. SOTRAFA (Spain)
SOTRAFA is part of the Armando Alvarez Group, founded in 1964.
Since 2005, it has been producing and supplying geomembranes for four main applications: mining, water conservancy, environmental engineering and civil engineering.
Alvatech® geomembranes are sold in more than 60 countries around the world, with commercial offices in key markets around the world.
More than 100 million m2 of geomembranes have been produced and supplied since 2005.
SOTRAFA uses high-quality polyethylene resins to ensure the good performance of Alvatech® geomembranes.
SOTRAFA uses the latest flat extrusion technology (calendering system) to ensure excellent thickness control and uniform surface finish.
SOTRAFA uses rough geomembranes made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), with many 0.9 mm high nails (57,000 per m2) on one or both sides, making the geomembrane extremely stable when installed on steep slopes (high friction coefficient, high friction angle).
SOTRAFA was the only manufacturer in the world that could provide 7.5m wide rolled rough geomembrane, which effectively reduced the number of welds and optimized the installation cost.
The friction angle between Alvatech® rough geomembrane and geotextile is greater than 35°, and the friction angle with geocomposite drainage net products is greater than 30°.
In addition, the company has a series of multi-purpose geomembrane products including: Alvatech® two-color film, Alvatech® HP-OIT aging-resistant geomembrane, Alvatech® HTR high-temperature resistant geomembrane, Alvatech® multi-color geomembrane, Alvatech® thermal energy film, EVOH ethylene copolymer waterproof membrane, Alvatech® conductive film.
14. TDM (Peru)
Founded in 1992, Peru-based TDM is the largest geosynthetics producer in South America.
Among them, geomembrane products include the widely used HDPE and LLDPE series for liquid or solid waste management.
TDM’s HDPE/LLDPE geomembranes are made of high-quality special polyethylene resins, with excellent chemical corrosion resistance and biodegradability, and strong UV resistance.
TDM provides complete solutions for mine leaching sites, tailings dams, municipal and industrial solid waste landfills, reservoir canals, tunnels, chemical waste liquid pools, ornamental lagoons and swimming pools, and buildings, including the installation and construction of geosynthetics.
Its vision is to provide comprehensive solutions based on rigorous technology, high-performance products and professional and high-quality installation services for the field of environmental geotechnical engineering.
Finally
The above 14 brands are all world-renowned HDPE/LLDPE geomembrane manufacturers. Their product quality is very good, and their products exceed the international GRI-GM13 and GRI-GM17 standards.
However, I would like to introduce a Chinese manufacturer, QIVOC.
QIVOC is a geomembrane manufacturer with more than ten years of R&D and production experience. The HDPE/LLDPE geomembranes produced by QIVOC exceed the international standards of GRI-GM13 and GRI-GM17. At the same time, our geomembranes also meet the Chinese standards GB/T17643-2011, J/T234-2006, and the American standard ASTM-GRIGM13.
QIVOC provides smooth, single-rough or double-rough geomembranes with a thickness of 0.5mm-3.0mm and a width of 1m-7m. The maximum width can be customized to 8m or even 9m. The color of the geomembrane can also be customized, and the default is black. The monthly production capacity of the QIVOC factory exceeds 100k square meters of geomembranes. And it is fully compliant and certified with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, TRI, SGS and CE.
Although QIVOC is not as well-known as the above 14 brands, the quality of the products it provides can stand the test of time and the price is cheaper. It can save your budget while ensuring the smooth completion of your project.
If you are interested in QIVOC’s geomembrane products, please feel free to contact us.
