KEY POINTS:
Auckland-based TigerTurf International -- one of the largest synthetic turf manufacturers in the world -- is building a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas.
"By establishing a facility in the Americas we can bring our manufacturing technology and our focus on research and development ... much closer to our customers," said Graham Vivian, of Kohimarama, a former cricket international who founded the company as Astrograss 27 years ago.
The company has its headquarters in New Zealand, and wholly-owned subsidiaries in Australia, Britain, and the United States.
Harry Salomons, a director of TigerTurf Americas, said having a plant in the Americas would also also help enhance customer service and logistics.
The new plant is scheduled to begin production this year, said Mr Salomons.
It will manufacture all types of synthetic turf surfaces, using a range of fibres from the latest monofilaments to slit film.
TigerTurf field systems have already been used at West Virginia's Concord University, Connecticut's Waveny Park and Ohio's Hamilton Township.
Mr Vivian said he was confident in the company's opportunity to grow in the American markets, both in market share and in technological and manufacturing expertise.
"TigerTurf will become an industry leader in the Americas markets in the next few years," he said in a statement.
Originally known as Astrograss Allweather Surfaces, TigerTurf, produces playing surfaces for many sports, including tennis, football, track running, hockey, cricket and bowls.
Exporting took off for the company in 1996 when it won a contract to supply bowling greens prior to the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. From there it expanded to Singapore and Taiwan before taking on the huge, emerging Chinese market in the late 1990s.
Astrograss was founded in 1981 when Mr Vivian saw an opportunity for a sports surface that would allow optimum sports performance regardless of the weather.
The company plans to develop markets such as India and Pakistan, where it has predicted that synthetic grass will improve the quality of play in sports such as cricket and hockey.
- NZPA
