Groz-Beckert, the leading supplier of industrial machine needles, has contributed to the discussions at the AMI Grass Yarn & Tufters Forum, where the company demonstrated its expertise in the areas, where tuftlock is concerned.

The conference that was held in Vienna earlier this year offered visitors an opportunity to learn more about new products, technological developments, structural changes and growth prospects of the industry.

The increasing importance of tuftlock in the backing material was a particular focus of interest, and the future of yarn materials was also intensively discussed.

New products and updates

Persistently high growth rates and technological developments are giving the artificial turf sector excellent prospects for the future; it was heard at the AMI Grass Yarn & Tufters Forum. At the conference, which was held from 17-19 February at Vienna's Imperial Riding School Renaissance Vienna Hotel, keynote speeches were delivered by 19 guest speakers from all over the world.

Experts discussed new products, and the current market situation and growth prospects were also analyzed. The speeches focused less on sales arguments and more on in-depth information and discussions about the demands of the artificial turf industry – from a customer as well as a supplier perspective.

Groz-Beckert's expertise

The controlled and coordinated combination of materials, and the functional interaction of all tool components lead to high-quality and economically impressive results in the tufting process. Given the dynamic market, economic benefits like these are critical to competitive success, as the conference participants recognized.

The AMI Grass Yarn & Tufters Forum was an opportunity for Groz-Beckert to present its product range in the tufting gauge parts sector to a high-level professional audience.

Great interest was shown in Groz-Beckert's expertise in tuftlock, which ensures the durability of artificial turf even during intensive mechanical stress. The SAN-S special application needle from Groz-Beckert, with its special point and eye geometry, can assume a key role in this phase of production in order to obtain the required quality characteristics, the manufacturer reports.

Dynamic market

As the conference made clear, the artificial turf industry is making good progress in terms of segmentation and definition of evolving customer requirements: artificial-grass products can be differentiated ever more finely according to target applications.

The polymer types used are being further developed on a consistent basis. Instead of polyamide, today's market is dominated by yarns made from polyethylene. There are also new fibre cross sections and designs that are precisely tailored to their intended applications. The power of innovation in developing new products remains high, as does the development potential inherent in this product segment.

In recent years the industry has experienced a global growth rate of approximately 10-20% per annum, despite a sometimes difficult investment climate. For the coming years, double-digit growth rates are being forecast. In the future, financing and the necessary support from politics, as well as educational and sports institutions will remain essential for the further spread of artificial turf in stadium construction.

Applications in sports and leisure

Just how dynamic and segmented the artificial turf market has now become can be seen from the industry-recognized classifications for different product applications. Here are the main areas of application for artificial turf products:

• Contact-intensive sports, such as soccer, American football, rugby, Australian football, Gaelic football and other sports on long-blade grass
• Sports without intensive contact, e.g. field hockey, tennis, paddle tennis, baseball, lacrosse, cricket, golf and other sports on short grass as well as indoor sports
• The leisure sector, including domestic applications as well as distribution via DIY channels
• The landscaping sector, including applications on the municipal or commercial level, applications for schools and institutions, and also landscaping for sports facilities

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