Dennis Shanklin
President and CEO
Mr. Shanklin is the co-founder and CEO of Environmental Fabrics, Inc. Dennis has over 40 years of experience in the construction and environmental industry. Prior to his venture with EFI, Dennis was the Environmental Division Manager at Rummel Construction Inc in Springfield, Missouri. At Rummel, Dennis was the creator of the Environmental Division and soon turned its sales into 50 percent of the company’s total volume. In 1993, he decided to venture with his two partners into creating EFI. Dennis’ focus has been on improvement, innovation and expansion. As a result he is listed as an inventor on 3 cover patents and has one pending. Dennis has become one of the key elements in the development of anaerobic digester covers in the United States and is a regular speaker at environmental conferences like the annual EPA’s AgStar. In 2000, he created a company called 3R-Foam, which recycles XPE foam from scrap. This company has shown impressive results and manufactures the product used for EFI’s permeable cover operations. With Dennis as a qualifier, EFI is a licensed Contractor in 12 states.
Dennis has brought EFI together with many carbon credit developers and suppliers to develop the CER and VER market as a technology provider. This opportunity allowed EFI to become a multinational company through the establishment of Environmental Fabrics de Mexico (EFM), our subsidiary in Mexico. The majority of international projects are completed through EFM.
Mr. Shanklin is a founding member of the International Association of Geosynthetic Installers, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Utility Contractors Association.
Alan Cowles
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Cowles is the CFO of Environmental Fabrics, Inc. Alan has over 27 years of experience in financial management and company operations. Prior to his work in EFI, Alan worked for Pella Window and Door Company of South Carolina for 5 years. In Pella, Alan was responsible for handling all the financial dealings and the day to day operations of the office. Alan also worked for Ford Motor Company in Ohio as a district sales manager and even started his own restaurant. Innovation and entrepreneurship are two words that best describe Alan’s way of doing business. Alan was a key element to the organization and coordination of the company’s international expansion. He handled all the logistics for the establishment of EFM, EFI’s subsidiary in Mexico. Alan oversees the supply chain from US and Chile for the importation of the company materials.
Mr. Cowles obtained his second B.S.B.A. (Accounting) from the University of South Carolina in 1981. His first degree was a B.S.B.A. in Marketing from South East Missouri State University.
Mike Lever, P. Eng.
Senior Engineer and Project Manager
Mr. Lever currently serves as the Project Manager for North America specializing in Covers. Mike has 8 years of experience in construction management and has brought the latest techniques in Project Management to EFI. Prior to working for our company he worked for Bollinger, Lach and Associates in Illinois where he was a Project Coordinator and Field Construction Engineer. Mike entered the cover industry as a project engineer in 2002 where he worked for GTI (Geomembrane Technologies Inc) in New Brunswick, Canada. With GTI Mike was able to help clients with the design, material procurement, and construction management of each particular project. In addition, he was able to conduct Research and Development and with his team won the CENB award for innovation in 2003.
Mr. Lever received a BSC in Civil Engineering in 2000 and obtained his Professional Engineering registry in Canada in 2007.
Kevin Allen
Project Manager
Mr. Allen currently serves as a Project Manager with the major focus on Liners. Kevin brings more than 17 years of experience with geosynthetics. His career started with JM Peters Co in California, a development firm, as an assistant superintendent. In 1991 Kevin moved to the geosynthetics industry and worked for National Seal and later GSI as a Job Supervisor for 10 years. He joined EFI in 2000 as a Supervisor and his accomplishments and field experience have provided him with the expertise for the project management position.
Mr. Allen holds a BS in Biology from Southern Illinois University and he is an IAGI certified welder.
Jason Taylor
Project Manager
With the exception of President and CEO Denis Shanklin, Mr. Taylor is Environmental Fabrics’ longest standing and most dedicated employee. Jason took on construction field work as his first job in 1994 and has been with EFI ever since. After working hard in the field, Jason was promoted to technician, supervisor and now currently works as a Project Manager for Biogas production projects around the country. Jason’s 16 years of first hand experience in every aspect of the company has made him one of EFI’s most knowledgeable and dependable employees.
Mr. Taylor is an IAGI certified welder, a certified Firestone specialty products installer and continually educates himself on the newest products and installation techniques.
Ricardo Hamdan
International Business Development
Mr. Hamdan is a recent acquisition for EFI; he came on board to assist with the company’s marketing both nationally and internationally. Ricardo is a recent graduate of the University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business. He was one of the 60 students admitted into the prestigious International Business major. At USC, Ricardo held several leadership positions including Director of Public Relations for the Fraternity Council for 2 years. Ricardo increased fraternity recruitment by 20 percent by simply applying strategic advertising and marketing on campus and in online social networking websites. Ricardo has obtained professional experience while in school through several internships and worked in Mexico as a Communications and Language Consultant for top executives. His multinational experience comes from Maquilas Arias, a manufacturing company where he served as the Assistant to the General Manager. There Ricardo was able to coordinate operations with companies like Abercrombie and Fitch for the accurate production and exporting of women jeans, Arias’ main product line.
Mr. Hamdan obtained his B.S.B.A. in International Business and Marketing from the University of South Carolina in 2007.
José Rebollo
International Project Manager
A native of Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico, José is the newest addition to the EFI team. Although a recent graduate, José has gained valuable experience from past positions as Project Supervisor with Applied Projects and Supplies S.A. de C.V. and Assistant Superintendent for Coplasa (Constructora y Promotora de la Laguna S.A. de C.V.) in Durango, Mexico. He has managed jobs ranging from the construction of Dairy Barns and recreational municipal skate parks to complete building redesign and remodeling.
José is a citizen of both Mexico and Spain and speaks fluent Spanish and English. He is excited to start his new career with EFI.
Mr. Rebollo obtained his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Universidad Iberoamericana Unidad Laguna in December of 2009.
