Sports turf company opens plant in Britain

By ELLEN READ

New Zealand company Astrograss has opened a new manufacturing plant in Britain.

New Zealand High Commissioner Paul East attended the opening, as did members of the New Zealand hockey team, who are in Britain for a World Cup qualifying tournament.

The 3902 sq m plant at Kidderminster in the West Midlands has five tufting machines capable of producing over a million square metres of sports surfaces a year.

Astrograss, set up in 1981 by former Kiwi test cricketer Graham Vivian, exports a range of surfaces for hockey, tennis, cricket, football and multisport applications to more than 30 countries.

It is New Zealand's only synthetic surface manufacturer and has an Auckland factory with four tufting machines.

Though Astrograss had been competitive from its base in New Zealand, Mr Vivian said demand had meant "it was inevitable that a product plant in the Northern Hemisphere would be required."

The Kidderminster site was chosen because of the wealth of skilled labour and carpet marking expertise available there.

The UK company, which will operate under the name Tiger AG, is owned by Mr Vivian and Cavalier Bremworth chairman Tony Timpson.

Already, it has been chosen to supply surfaces to David Lloyd Tennis Clubs, a worldwide chain of leisure centres.