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The floods that hit southern Louisiana in 2016 were reportedly the worst natural disaster to affect the United States since 2012’s Hurricane Sandy. As rainfall levels reached record highs and rivers swelled, up to eight inches of floodwaters infiltrated the East Baton Rouge Parish Library’s Greenwell Springs Regional Branch. Out of the library’s 140,000-book collection, as many as 22,000 items were lost. Several required water-damaged-book restoration. Floods pose a threat to one of the greatest resources on the planet—books. Water damage in libraries can prove catastrophic, especially when wet documents don’t receive prompt attention.

There are more than 320,000 public libraries around the world. Adding to this figure are thousands of academic, government, research, museum, ecclesiastical, special topic, film, and home libraries. The largest libraries on the planet, such as the Library of Congress and British Library, house more than 15 million books, artifacts and archived materials each. A single incident of water damage in libraries can prove financially catastrophic, especially if the items affected are numerous, valuable or rare. When libraries pair climate control solutions with archival best practices and emergency preparedness, they reduce the need for water-damaged-book restoration and make a valuable investment in the institution’s future.

With global growth facilitating positive construction trends, cement consumption is on the rise. World Cement projected in 2016 that the market for construction aggregates would grow to 51.7 billion tons in 2019, an advancement rate of 5.2 percent annually. As residential construction and infrastructure investments dominate the market, more contractors will look to the benefits of concrete drying solutions to facilitate the meeting of project deadlines, as well as ensure the quality and performance of the aggregate materials used.

In fast-growing economies and emerging markets, cement is as vital as oil. The material is among the most versatile as it’s essential for infrastructure, roads, and building construction. With annual revenues in the hundreds of billions of dollars, cement is also a big business. With cement production on the rise, the need for construction drying solutions will also increase to keep contractors in pace with the fast-paced market.

One of the simplest things to take for granted when traveling is the concrete beneath the tires. Throughout the last century, concrete has played a major role in the United States’ transportation systems, from creating new roads to repairing existing highways. The country’s highway system, including its nearly-45,000-mile interstate system, carries about 40 percent of total traffic. This figure includes 90 percent of tourist traffic and 70 percent of commercial traffic. Pairing concrete preparation with construction drying solutions is crucial to the nation’s transit infrastructure as it improves a road’s safety and minimizes disruptions to traffic.