Artificial grass suppliers have unlimited business opportunities since Urban greening is an unstoppable trend in future development. In this process, the use of lawns is a vital and indispensable part. Artificial turf has become the best substitute for natural turf because of its simple installation, realistic, low maintenance, evergreen, and harmlessness.
In recent years, the artificial lawn market has maintained rapid development momentum. According to market research institutions, the market size of the global faux turf industry will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 14.36% from 2018 to 2020. The global artificial turf market exceeded US$2 billion in 2019. The world’s largest artificial turf market EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), had 750 million U.S. dollars in 2019.
As we all know, artificial grass manufacturers need a large amount of long-term R&D investment to make product performance and production efficiency meet market demand. The manufacturers of market-competitive artificial turf products depend not only on the improvement of raw materials and formulas such as grass silk and back glue but also on the improvement and innovation of the production technology level and the maturity and optimization of production equipment. At the same time, international education authorities continue to put forward higher requirements for the performance of sports turf, and consumers’ demand for recreational grass is also constantly increasing. Only by continuously increasing R&D investment and improving the overall technical level of artificial turf enterprises can they consolidate and enhance their comprehensive competitiveness and become the benchmark for artificial grass suppliers.
Innovation of artificial grass suppliers:
Through continuous research and innovation, turf manufacturers use materials from the original nylon material to the polyethylene and polypropylene materials used today, which further improves the quality of plastic grass, which can apply to various occasions.
First period: nylon materials
The early fake lawn was only a subordinate substitute for natural turf since the natural turf field was not suitable for particular environments, and it was hard to move. The shape of the lawn made of nylon is similar to that of a carpet, and it has poor elasticity and has no protection for athletes, which can easily lead to injuries. Moreover, it is expensive and highly inconvenient to transport.
Second period: PP material(polypropylene)
This stage is the period of development and growth of the fake lawn industry. This kind of artificial turf is similar in appearance to live turf. Compared with the initial synthetic turf, polypropylene turf is relatively soft. But the tensile strength is low, and it is easy to tear. If broken, we may blow those grass into the respiratory tract through the wind, harmful to health. So the artificial grass suppliers fill the turf with quartz sand after paving. Quartz sand particles have strong hardness and low economic cost, which improves the strength of the lawn.
Third period: PE material(polyethylene)
Based on the second stage, the manufacturer filled it with rubber particles so that the grass could be closely attached to the foundation. The lawn will not be deformed due to the impact when exercising, which protects the athletes and increases the comfort during exercise. The simulated lawn at this stage has the elasticity of a natural lawn and greatly improves the lawn’s performance.
Fourth period: the certification system “recommended by FIFA.”
Taking the International Football League certification as the standard, focusing on system engineering construction. In addition to mesh products, products such as straight and curved hybrids have appeared at this stage. The materials are mixed with PE and PP or PE and nylon, and the sports performance is further enhanced.
Fifth period: monofilament grass
In addition to pursuing sports performance, artificial grass manufacturers also pursue an ideal appearance and pay more attention to the construction of the system. Sports artificial turf using monofilament grass is more complicated in technology and higher in cost, but it is better in terms of stability and service life.
Sixth period: curly grass
This artificial grass is specially developed for gate courts, golf, etc. The surface of the lawn is quite elastic and can stop the ball. The lawn surface is flat, resistant to trampling, and recovers quickly.
The technology of artificial grass manufacturers:
At present, fake grass companies not only innovate in terms of color, appearance, contact comfort, etc., so that these aspects of artificial turf are basically the same as those of natural grass. In terms of sports turf, the unique rolling performance, abrasion resistance, shock absorption and resilience performance, weather resistance, and pull-out performance of artificial turf are also working hard to develop to higher requirements.
Linear friction/rolling performance:
The rolling performance of the artificial grass field determines the rolling and deceleration distance of the ball and sports shoes, which has an important impact on the prevention of athletes’ injury and the trajectory of the ball. Artificial grass suppliers break through the technical difficulties of the industry, adapt sand-free technology, and develop artificial sports turf with more robust rolling performance to escort people’s healthy development.
Rolling friction/abrasion resistance:
As a prerequisite for the life of synthetic turf, abrasion resistance plays a vital role in ensuring the stability of the quality of artificial turf products. The FIFA test standard requires that the faux turf should not be split or damaged after being rolled back and forth on a wear-resistant experimental device 20,000 times. At present, researchers have tried various studies to find ways to improve the abrasion resistance of artificial turf. Facts have proved that polymer composite materials and filling materials can significantly improve plastic artificial turf’s wear resistance and service life.
Shock absorption and resilient performance:
Shock absorption and resilience performance refer to the ability of the turf surface to deform and restore its original shape after a certain impact force is applied to the surface of the artificial turf field. Artificial turf with good resilience performance is more suitable for running and sports and can more effectively prevent athletes from falling and enhance their experience.
Weather resistance:
Weather resistance mainly simulates the environment of different ultraviolet rays, humidity, and temperature. After a period of time, the color fastness, abrasion resistance, and the connection strength of the grass and the bottom of the plastic artificial turf are tested. Artificial lawns are more often placed outdoors, so they have high requirements for weather resistance. The faux lawn suppliers treat artificial grass with advanced UV stabilizers to provide a long-lasting barrier and maximize the life of artificial sports turf or landscape turf.
Pull-off performance:
The maximum force to pull the grass filaments in the artificial turf from the bottom determines the pull-off performance. This performance mainly affects the service life of the artificial turf and prevents the grass filaments from being pulled out continuously due to high-frequency use during exercise. It depends on the weaving method of the grass filaments and the performance of the original rubber used at the bottom. The adhesives selected by professional artificial turf manufacturers are high-quality adhesives that meet SGS standards and environmental protection requirements.
Artificial turf is mainly divided into sports turf and landscape grass. In recent years, the sales scale of sports turf has exceeded that of leisure grass, but the growth rate of leisure grass has been faster. In 2019, the sales volume of sports turf was 160 million square meters, which accounted for 53.97% of the global sales. It predicted that the sales volume in 2023 will be 219 million square meters. The sales volume of leisure grass is 137 million square meters, and the global sales account for 46.03%. The sales volume in 2023 is predicted to be 239 million square meters.
The growth of the sports turf market is mainly due to the increased investment in sports venues in developing countries and the renewal of artificial turf installed in developed countries. Lawn manufacturers continue to improve product performance. Large-scale home furnishing chain supermarkets, gardening companies, DIY, and other sales methods have spread from mature markets such as North America to other regions, and consumers are concerned about water conservation. And the awareness of reducing maintenance costs has gradually deepened.
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