Product Overview

The FieldTurf concept is simple. The best surface for athletic contests - American football, soccer, rugby, lacrosse, baseball, and softball - is good natural grass. And synthetic turf should be like grass, not carpet. FieldTurf's inventors were sportsmen - not carpet makers. Former players and coaches, not turf salesmen. They approached the challenge from a completely different perspective. They wanted to develop a synthetic system that offered the beneficial biomechanical properties of natural grass, combined with the best attributes of a durable synthetic system: all-weather playability, low maintenance, and unlimited playing time.

The idea was simple. Looks Like Grass... Feels Like Grass... Plays Like Grass. But the technology to make it happen was not simple at all. After several years of hard work, after trials, tests, consultations with players, coaches, trainers and doctors, sample plots, equipment modifications, and countless formulations, FieldTurf was born.

FieldTurf is fundamentally different from all others. Stable, firm not spongy, non-abrasive and uniform in traction, FieldTurf is engineered to play and feel like natural grass. On FieldTurf, players perform with confidence - and never experience the accelerated fatigue and muscle / joint stress associated with lightweight, rubber- filled systems. Like blades of natural grass, FieldTurf's fibers are soft and easy to slide on. They are surrounded and stabilized by FieldTurf's patented, heavy fill - the «artificial earth» that so clearly sets FieldTurf apart. Composed of smooth, rounded silica sand and cryogenically frozen and smashed rubber particles, FieldTurf's patented infill is engineered to stay «in suspension» providing years of proper biomechanics, shock absorbency and durability. A patented process of precision layering ensures infill uniformity. The result is a stable, resilient, predictable place to play - grass-like performance of the highest quality.

FieldTurf revolutionized the turf industry, and in many ways, the entire world of sport.

FieldTurf's patented system is the first choice for elite athletic venues worldwide: Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets and Giants, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, St. Louis Rams, and New England Patriots to name a few. 21 out of the NFL's 32 teams play and/or practice on FieldTurf. In addition, more than 50 NCAA installations, including Ohio State, Nebraska, Kansas State, Oregon, Oregon State, Syracuse, Washington and Washington State.

In the ever growing sport of Soccer, in the US and around the world, top leagues and teams practice and play on FieldTurf, including: English and Scottish Premier Leagues; Germany's Bundesliga; Spain's Primera Liga; Japan's JFA; Russia's Lokomotiv and CSKA, along with over 10 professional soccer teams from the MLS and USL in North America.

FieldTurf is dramatically different from traditional synthetic turf. The most striking difference is immediately obvious. Instead of a dense, abrasive rug, FieldTurf's fiber surface is soft, silky - like new blades of grass in a spring meadow. Players can slide, tackle and tumble on FieldTurf's unique blend of specially treated polyethylene fibers without fear of abrasions. Rug burns are a thing of the past. The old hatred of «turf» - voiced so loudly by players, trainers, coaches, the media, even parents and doctors - simply vanishes, a distant memory from the rough «carpet age».

But FieldTurf is much more than just the absence of abrasions. Unlike traditional turf, FieldTurf does not rely on an underlying shock pad for safety, resilience and player comfort. Rather, like its natural grass cousin, FieldTurf's grass fibers are surrounded and stabilized by a special blend of «synthetic earth» - FieldTurf's patented mixture of smooth, rounded silica sand and rubber granules.

The rubber granules are a key component. Tire rubber is cryogenically frozen, shattered into smooth, clean, rounded particles, sized and shaped to stay «in suspension» with the sand, which is of a similar size, shape and weight. The sand and rubber are precision layered to guarantee uniformity, with an installation process that is also patented.

The result: A stable, resilient, uniform, shock-absorbing surface. FieldTurf is the original and only system emulating natural grass, ideal not only for athletes at the elite level but for everyday athletes.

The design of the FieldTurf fabric is radically different. FieldTurf is the original wide gauge, tall pile fabric, and this design is also patented. The distance between the rows of fibers tufted into the backing is very wide, and related directly to the height of the pile fibers.

The taller the pile, the wider the distance between the fibers. This patented formula means the special filling or «synthetic earth» that is layered into the pile fibers is carefully controlled in terms of weight, density and thickness. There are approximately nine pounds of infill per square foot compared to less than half of that for any other infilled turf company in the industry. Why is this so important? The designers at FieldTurf discovered that the only way to truly emulate natural grass is to combine all these elements into an integrated system. The tall pile, wide gauge design, and increased infill mass allows cleated shoes to penetrate the fibers, plant into the special sand/rubber infill, twist easily and release (with minimal torsional resistance).

This design accounts for the documented reduction in lower extremity injuries and significantly reduced neural injuries of players who compete on FieldTurf, even compared to natural grass!

Installation of a FieldTurf field eliminates the use of harmful pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides, while at the same time, removes over 40,000 tires from landfill sites.

FieldTurf requires no mowing, fertilizing, reseeding or watering. A typical soccer / football field can use between 2.5 million and 3.5 million gallons of water per year.

FieldTurf saves a billion gallons of fresh water every year. Coupled with reduced labor costs related to maintenance, equipment and elimination of costs for supplies such as fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, many of our clients report a reduction in maintenance costs of as much as $30,000 to $60,000 per field, per year.

"The safety of athletes and communities is, and always has been, the number one priority at FieldTurf," said FieldTurf Tarkett CEO Joe Fields. "Our commitment to the environment ensures that our products are constantly being tested to ensure safety. The FieldTurf system has worked wonders for organizations all over the world as a product that reduces water consumption and pollution caused by chemical use, while increasing playing time, reducing injuries and promoting a healthy lifestyle." The installation of FieldTurf eliminates the use of harmful pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides and fungicides, while at the same time removes thousands of tires from landfill sites. FieldTurf requires no mowing, fertilizing, reseeding or watering. FieldTurf helps organizations earn the necessary points needed for U.S. Green Building Council LEED certification. FieldTurf's reused rubber content and water use reduction, among other factors, can contribute up to 10 points towards LEED certification.

Our strongest supporters are sophisticated clients who care the most about player performance and safety. Early on, key sports experts grasped the revolutionary impact of the FieldTurf concept. Today our list of worldwide supporters is the most prestigious in the industry. We encourage prospective clients to call our references, to visit our sites, compare and educate themselves on their options. There are many artificial turf manufacturers but only FieldTurf has stood up to the test of time.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but as in many things, no guarantee of quality. FieldTurf is a superior investment. That's why we are seldom the «low bid.» Our educated clients understand that FieldTurf engineering delivers a superior cost and performance ratio, especially in terms of established quality of play, durability, installation experience, and after-sale service and warranty. We are usually the first choice, regardless of price, and FieldTurf is the standard by which all products are measured.

Unlike imitations, FieldTurf is an engineered system. This means FieldTurf has been carefully and thoroughly designed, not just thrown together for the purpose of a sale. To control quality at this high level, FieldTurf has invested heavily in modernizing its plants with the latest technologies, top manufacturing talent and specialized installation equipment for its experienced install teams. FieldTurfÕs fully staffed CAD-based design department complements the companyÕs «full service» commitment, delivering superior design and engineering for each project.

FieldTurf Tarkett's plant is an impressive site by anyone's standards. Located in Dalton, GA, it is a 110,000 square foot facility with 35 employees totalling well over 300 years of experience in the artificial turf industry. The plant features 8 tufting machines with a capacity to produce 600,000 square feet of turf each day. That is an annual production of 219,000,000 square feet of quality assured turf - enough to supply just under 3000 fields per year (assuming an average of 75,000 square feet per field).

To ensure FieldTurf Tarkett's standards are unmatched, a rigorous quality control process (based on extensive testing and inspections) is undertaken with every field that is put into production.

First, yarn testing is performed, which includes tensile strength, elongation, tenacity, denier, shrinkage, and twist (turns per inch). Testing continues throughout the entire tufting process until all rolls for a field are complete.

FieldTurf Tarkett is the only company in the synthetic turf industry to own and operate its own manufacturing plant. From the beginning, FieldTurf Tarkett's founders recognized that quality control, customer protection, and product satisfaction could only be guaranteed by being masters of their own destiny.

The state-of-the-art plant located in Dalton, Georgia is a big reason why FieldTurf Tarkett is the number one choice of professional teams, high schools, colleges and facility managers around the world. FieldTurf Tarkett's ability to ensure the quality of its raw materials and its manufacturing from start to finish is the reason why it enjoys the best record for on-time delivery of its projects, even though it enjoys a market share that is greater than all its competitors combined.

Only FieldTurf's selected components, patented formulation, and construction and installation methods allow us to succeed in emulating the best natural grass fields. Cutting corners, reducing the price of components at the expense of performance are not part of the FieldTurf philosophy. Each and every FieldTurf customer, whether an NFL stadium, Premier League Club or high school multi-purpose facility, gets the identical FieldTurf system, service and warranty.

As the years go by, the FieldTurf system will not only be safer and play more consistently, but will need less maintenance and will last much longer than our competitors' fields. Many in the industry like to make such claims, but simply have no proof to support it. FieldTurf fields have been in the ground for over 10 years of consistent play, season after season. The proof of our quality and durability is clear to see. Over 2500 times.

The only way to ensure such long lasting performance is through the use of large quantities of the highest quality materials. FieldTurf's fiber system features the latest in monofilament technology.

The FieldTurf infill contains three times more material than any of our competitors. That's 560,000 lbs. more infill per field! And these costly materials are just part of a complex and expensive installation process. Installation starts with the sewing of every seam with a unique joining flap that protects each seam. This process takes more time than gluing seams. Our competitors who sew seams use overlock machines, which join field seams like the sleeves of a t-shirt. On a FieldTurf field, seams do not come apart. Period.

Our infill is layered to deliver perfect biomechanical performance. A stabilizing ballast of silica sand enhances vertical drainage. Multiple layers of sand and cryogenic rubber follow, which provide energy restitution, proper cleat penetration with quick twist and release and improved Gmax. A final top layer of larger sized cryogenic rubber granules completes the system. This infill system does not move or displace like all-rubber infill systems. With higher material costs and an improved sewing and layering process that requires more skilled labor, it should be no surprise that FieldTurf costs more. About $1 per sq. ft. more. And worth every cent.

Dependable, experienced local expertise. Many of our sales representatives have been successful athletes for most of their lives and have a renewed desire to improve sport through superior revolutionary surfacing for the next generation. FieldTurf is renowned for its customer service along with providing escrow-secured, turnkey Maintenance Contracts to all FieldTurf customers.

To contact a sales representative closest to you, click on the link below:
Distributors

No weather can stop FieldTurf. Not rainstorms. Not snowstorms. Our fields are made to be plowed without any damage. From Minneapolis to Moscow, our fields perform in the most extreme conditions.

FieldTurf was the very first artificial surface to attain FIFA Recommended status due to its superior grass-like performance, which soccer players prefer. FieldTurf was the 1^st artificial pitch to host a UEFA Cup Qualifying Round (Torpedo, Moscow); and the 1^st to host a FIFA Soccer Tournament (Jeux de la Francophonie). FieldTurf has passed the international governing body's most stringent testing and has more FIFA Recommended pitches than anyone else. FieldTurf is also UEFA Certified.

The FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 marked the first time in its history that FIFA designated its second most important event, after the FIFA World Cup, to be played on artificial grass. 13 matches in total including the opening match with Canada, a quarter-final and a semi-final game, and most important of all, the Championship Final were played on the most technologically advanced product in the industry.

From the complexity of a major multi-sports facility to the simplicity of beautifying a municipal property, cities from coast-to-coast and around the world depend on FieldTurf. With over two thousand successful projects, FieldTurf has done it all. On rooftops. Even on water. From parklands to parking lots, no installation is too difficult. When the people speak, the professionals look to our experts to design and install the most effective and cost-efficient concepts to maximize city park and recreation projects. Our complete range of outdoor, playground and indoor products coupled with our global expertise make us the ideal «one stop shop».

Why not have the best? As the world's largest artificial turf company, you will find FieldTurf in most major stadiums around the globe. There are no differences between the field installed at a world famous stadium and the one installed at a local community field. Each and every organization gets the same first class service from our teams of engineers, designers and installers. Unlike NFL stadiums, park & recreation fields accommodate a myriad of different events on their turf every day. And community fields typically cannot afford a big maintenance crew to keep their turf in top shape. We've got what every high school, park district and recreation field needs. We are the most durable and the safest turf on earth.

Step on a FieldTurf Tarkett has revamped its Golf, Playground, Landscape, and Pets divisions to form the FieldTurf Greenscapes division. Each application has its own proven products that are specifically engineered to accommodate the different needs of each sector. More detailed information for this division can be found at www.fieldturfgreenscapes.com.

FieldTurf Signature Series for golf is the industry's leading synthetic turf golf brand. Tee lines and putting greens are the most visible parts of any golf facility and FieldTurf Signature Series makes it possible to offer golfers perfectly maintained tee lines and putting surfaces, regardless of the amount of use. In addition, FieldTurf Signature Series is a superior solution for driving range landing zones, allowing you to increase range revenue while significantly reducing maintenance costs.

FieldTurf Playground is a high quality, competitively priced product line designed specifically for children's play areas. Whether it is to be placed beneath playground equipment or simply for a running play zone, the ASTM and ADA compliant product is adaptable to achieve the best suited functionality even at varying fall heights. At FieldTurf Tarkett, safety is of primary importance. Our line of sports surfacing products are designed and engineered with the safety of athletes and end users in mind. With FieldTurf Playground, we are expanding this mindset to all areas where athletes and children might play.

The same qualities that make FieldTurf an outstanding surface for sports fields and golf courses makes it ideal for home or commercial landscaping. With well over 20,000 residential and commercial landscaping installations, it has proven to be extremely well suited for areas where natural grass is difficult to grow or where upkeep is impractical due to water restrictions or other environmental factors. And its durability makes it the sensible choice for high-traffic areas without the need for mowing, irrigation, thatching, weeding or control of insects and disease. FieldTurf also has the ability to design and produce corporate logos for commercial installations.

With FieldTurf's dedication to engineering and providing effective solutions for specific applications, it has become possible to have a pet and a beautiful lawn. Approximately 1000 institutions have FieldTurf at their dog facilities, kennels, or pet daycares. FieldTurf provides a lawn that is clean, low maintenance, safe from pet abuse and available 365 days a year. With a FieldTurf synthetic lawn, homeowners, pets, and kennel owners can have a beautiful area everyday, without the hassles and expense of maintaining a natural lawn. Pets love it because it is soft and it looks and feels just like real grass. Less time is spent cleaning pets since FieldTurf eliminates muddy paws and filth. The sand and rubber infill is non-toxic to pets and enables liquids to drain right through the surface.

When you make a large investment on a modern artificial turf field, you want to know that your investment is protected. Protected for the future, regardless of what happens to the company who sold and installed your field. FieldTurf's Engineered System makes our turf stand out from the crowd. We're the best in the business and have been since we revolutionized the artificial turf industry. The same holds true for our insured warranty.

FieldTurf Tarkett's aggregate limit per policy year on their prepaid warranty insurance is US$10,000,000. The company is once again setting the standard in the industry for ultimate customer protection. With FieldTurf Tarkett's industry-leading policy, there is no deductible, no limit per claim, no retention, and no retention period. All FieldTurf fields are automatically covered upon issuance of the Warranty Certificate.

In addition to the rock solid warranty policy that is rated A++ (Superior) and Category XV by A.M. Best - the highest rating available, FieldTurf Tarkett continues to earmark $500,000 in an 'In Trust' bank account to serve as a preliminary layer of protection which is exclusively for small warranty repairs - to cover any possible repair work needed on projects installed.

«This is a very significant financial milestone as this kind of security has never been equaled in this industry», said Michel Levasseur, FieldTurf Tarkett CFO. «With the failures of artificial turf companies in the past, it should be comforting to clients that FieldTurf Tarkett is financially protected from catastrophic product failures and that our clients themselves are protected in the unlikely event FieldTurf ceases to be around to warrant its fields. Over thirty companies in the artificial turf industry have gone bankrupt in recent years, leaving their customers with no protection and worthless warranties. We go forward never looking back because we continue to set the bar and have invested in our security and that of our clients. We have secured this by paying out over $9 million in insurance premiums in the past 7 years alone».

FieldTurf's Convertible System is a perfect fit for organizations around the globe.

Moveable and palletized turf systems have become viable options for multipurpose facilities/stadiums looking to expand their business without committing to a permanent synthetic surface.

Such is the case for Round Valley High School in Arizona. The FieldTurf Convertible System, often referred to as the future of sports surfacing, was installed at the high schoolÕs Dome in June-July 2007 to nothing but rave reviews.

«When we started looking for turf, we compared the different convertible systems on the market,» said Round Valley Athletic Director Willis Hawes. «We flew up to B.C. Place in Canada where the B.C. Lions play and we talked to them about their FieldTurf Convertible turf system. What sold us was that FieldTurf's infill doesn't carry and stays put. It does not end up in people's clothes after a game.»

«What sold me, personally, was the flexibility of the system,» added Hawes. «The infill is ideal and doesn't splash, it is very versatile so we can re-arrange the field however we want it with relative ease, and it is perfect for painting the lines of the different sports we will be playing on the turf. So far, the kids and coaches have liked it because it is softer than dirt and the footing is excellent as the athletes seem to be able to cut, plant, and release as if they were on good natural grass.»

The revolutionary FieldTurf Convertible system has been installed at numerous venues in the past including the Rogers Centre, home of Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays and the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts, as well as in B.C. Place Stadium, home of the Canadian Football League's B.C. Lions. Both of these facilities host a great deal of sporting and non-sporting events, making FieldTurf's Convertible System the perfect fit. A heavy amount of R & D went into developing FieldTurf's proprietary tray system.