The Turf and Grass Expo 2010 Conference Programme was without question the major tipping point for the wider acceptance of synthetic turf. There is no doubt that Synthetic Turf has come of age over recent years and should therefore be adopted where needed within the professional leagues. Synthetic Turf is not a substitute for good natural grass but can certainly complement the development and sustainability of football, especially at lower league level.
Nigel Fletcher, Managing Director of Sports Development Marketing and events owners of The Turf and Grass Expo 2010, says:
“The real benefits of synthetic turf are especially apparent for lower league professional and semi- professional clubs. Firstly, there are many financial benefits and savings to be made, and taking into account the durability of the surface there is an increased opportunity to engage directly with the community and start to build sustainable youth systems. At the higher end of the spectrum the venue can be used for other, larger events such as concerts and therefore synthetic turf can directly assist the multi-user capability of the stadium. But more importantly for players of all levels, they have the best possible playing surface all year round.
There are of course challenges associated with using synthetic turf – it certainly is not maintenance free or designed for 24 hour non-stop activity, however with the proper after-care and correct usage the optimum return can often be achieved”.
Andrea Fodczuk, Director – Terraplas Ltd: “A very long day one delivered us some great leads from key decision makers. Day two continued to provide quality contacts to develop going forward – all in all a very worthwhile inauguration.”
Ivo Toxopeus, Project Manager – Edel Grass: “The Turf and Grass Expo is a perfect event for people entering the world of synthetic turf. All relevant aspects are included in the programme and all leading players in the business are represented. A marvellous opportunity for people involved in using, planning, building, buying and financing a synthetic turf pitch.”
Leanne Walsh – IRB: “The Turf and Grass Expo is a well organised event and a great opportunity to meet people from across the industry. I found it extremely interesting and beneficial – the staff were incredible and always around to help.”
Carolyn Beardsmoore – STRI: “The Turf and Grass Expo gave us the opportunity to meet new people within the industry and catch up with existing contacts. It was a well organised event and the event organisers were friendly and helpful throughout.”
Peter Macek, Product Manager – Greenex: “The Turf and Grass Expo was incredibly useful to us, with a high concentration of people from the industry all in one place. We had a large corner stand which was highly beneficial and gave us great visibility – we look forward to the next event.”
Paul Fraser, Sales Director Northern Europe – FieldTurf: “The biggest compliment I can pay the event is the fact I was unable to move from our stand all day as we were so busy! The most important and impressive thing for us was the quality of the visitors, mainly from national governing bodies, which was central to it being such a success for us.”
Leon Van Zijl– Van Zijl: “The Turf and Grass Expo has been a very busy and incredibly effective exhibition. Feedback to our product has been fantastic and it’s been superb both from a business-to-business and business-to-consumer perspective.”
Friedmann Soll, Product Manager – Polytan: “The event has been a great first step for bringing together the industry and those who have an interest in artificial turf. Many sports were represented at the event, from football to hockey, golf to rugby.”
Steffan Diderich, Commercial Director – Bonar Yarns: “As a supplier to the industry, the level of contacts we were able to meet at the Turf and Grass Expo was fantastic – very senior decision makers. The time of year was excellent in terms of when people are re-negotiating contracts, and teaming all of this with a very high quality level of content in the conference programme ensured the event was excellent.”
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