SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/484138
Field Science 20 SportsTurf | April 2015 www.sportsturfonline.com Eco chEmical Editor's note: Eco Chemical contributed this update. The trend toward increased multi-event use is the biggest driver of evolution and innovation within the sports field industry and particularly, with synthetic turf venues. The days of simply buying and applying paint without regard for pre- conditioning and eventual removal are gone, displaced by the demand for a more systematic approach to field maintenance. There is also an increased awareness and demand today for ecologically sound field maintenance practices that will minimize the release of harsh chemicals and materials into the environment. These materials have the potential to be hazardous, and can also create long-term issues with field per- formance caused by material buildup and chemical impact on the synthetic turf and grass surfaces. Technological advances in field paint are providing more options for field managers to maintain their fields with envi- ronmentally savvy products and methods, while saving time, labor, and cost. According to Jeff Fisher, manager for the TempLine Coatings and Equipment Division of Eco Chemical, "The industry just demands it. Sports are huge and growing; everything from kindergarteners playing soccer, up to the big professional sports events on multi-use, high level fields. Today's sports fields are expected to be available for play 15 to 20 hours a day, so having an efficient and reliable field maintenance plan is essential." According to Fisher, "It's not always just in the product that we're putting down, but it's in the packaging, the technology, the system, the man-hours, and the money it takes. All those things add up to being efficient as well as being ecologically responsible." When it comes to innovation in the workplace, Fisher says that, "As a group, we have always been problem solvers who look at every situation in our market as an opportunity for delivering improvement or a totally new solution. We come at it with a long-term perspective, and I think because we're from the Pacific Northwest, we bring an additional 'ecocentric' dimension to our long-term thinking. We definitely come at it from a different angle." When asked where the company gets the inspiration for new products, Fisher says, "I'm typically not in the lab. I'm in the field talking with customers and that's where a lot of the ideas come from. When I'm out there looking at the problems people are having, or how people typi- cally do something, I try and streamline it and figure out what we can do to make the situation more efficient. Then I go back to the lab and explain the problem, and our R&D team comes up with solu- tions for it. "We are pursuing several other sig- nificant opportunities in our current markets, in addition to other product ideas that might possibly take us off the athletic field and onto some other surfaces" says Fisher. Grass paint has historically taken a back seat in the drive for continuous product improvement. Many of the products in the market deliver adequate performance in terms of opacity, color, and durability, but aren't efficient to work with, nor are they eco-friendly. Many field managers use thick latex paints (simi- lar to house paint) on their grass fields. This choice of product gets the job done, but brings with it many potential problems for the natural grass environment, chief among them being the buildup of materials in the soil, eventually killing the grass and causing other field management problems. Eco Chemical is asking, "How do we take grass paint to the next level, and pro- vide the best possible on-field performance for long-term use with maximum efficiency and protection for the grass and the general environment?" The current market does not offer a superior, yet afford- able natural grass green paint. There is a growing concern in many markets that the shortage of water for sports field and golf course maintenance will make it increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain the "green." Eco Chemical is leveraging their existing product technology to develop a more cost- effective solution for this market challenge. According to Fisher, "This year will be important because California is predicting this summer will bring one of the worst droughts in 20 years, so a product to efficiently and safely paint grass and have it look green is vital." Change in the synthetic field turf industry is inevitable. The increased use of sport fields for multiple events and the resulting ever-expanding engagement calendar creates a steady demand for continued innovation. The buyers' search for greater efficiency and/or convenience will continue to chal- lenge everyone on the supply side of the equation, including manufacturers and distributors. The incentives are substantial for those in the field-marking segment of the industry, but will require constant creativity and new ways of thinking about how the market is best served in terms of products, packaging, deliv- ery, and service. Regardless of one's position at the table, the need for information will be at the heart of the challenge, along with the ability to respond with innovative solutions that also reflect the shared interest in environmental stewardship. ■ ST