New USA plant enables TigerTurf to grow

As the next step in its global expansion plan, New Zealand sports and leisure turf manufacturer, TigerTurf International, has announced that it is building a new state of the art factory in the United States to cater for the growing demand for its products in the Americas.

The plant, planned to open in June, is situated in Austin, Texas because of its central location and proximity to transport routes and will service a network of distributors that wholly owned subsidiary, TigerTurf Americas, already has in place throughout the United States, Central and South America.

"We are already selling into the US, using product from our New Zealand and UK factories and also some made under contract by a local manufacturer, but having our own facility will enable us to be more immediately responsive to our customers," says Graham Vivian, founder and managing director of the company. "The Austin plant will also be unusual in the US in that tufting and backing operations will be carried out in the same factory which will allow better product development and quality control," he notes.

"That TigerTurf now ranks in the top ten companies in the world in our industry reflects our strong commitment to research and innovation which enables the development of products that set us apart from our competitors. And, in a relatively young industry, our 25 years of experience gives us another leading edge," says Vivian.

TigerTurf, formerly known as Astrograss, manufactures a range of around 100 synthetic grass sports and leisure surfaces and exports to more than 80 countries. Products include different turfs for football codes such as soccer, rugby, Australian Rules and American football, as well as for tennis, cricket, field hockey, bowls, golf, baseball, lacrosse and many others.
Where appropriate, these surfaces are accredited by world governing sports bodies such as FIFA, FIH, ITF, WRB and World Bowls.

Multi-use sports and playground areas for schools is another growth area that the company has pioneered and the use of realistic looking synthetic grass for landscaping is increasing as water conservation becomes a concern in many countries.

TigerTurf has become the market leader in the UK since opening a factory in England in 2001 and the company also has offices in Australia and Germany. No other company in the industry has three manufacturing facilities strategically located around the world.