Rubber granules for football fields

At STARGUM, we excel at production of synthetic rubber. Our flagship product are various sorts of rubber granules. Their primary application is for sports and recreational surfaces, like artificial turf. It’s a modern alternative of natural grass for professional athletes.

Material properties for football field groundwork

The artificial surface of a playing field mimics natural grass, so it consists of fibres. But that’s not enough because fibres themselves cannot exactly replicate the sturdiness and elasticity of soil and blades of grass. So, newer generations of football fields include additional bottom layers and rubber turf infill between the fibres.

SBR (Styrene-Butadiene Rubber) is intended specifically to make up the lower layers of the quality sports surfaces. It is both durable and flexible because it needs to absorb powerful impacts of the athletes’ bodies without them risking injuries or too much strain on their joints.

For the spaces between fibres, we provide two types of rubber infill: EPDM Infill and TPV Infill. Both come in one standard colour called Reseda Green, best suited to mimic a plant. Both come from virgin production – not recycled for the best control over the resulting mechanical properties. But the latter has an interesting ecological property. Unlike most types of rubber, TPV is thermoplastic. After scrapping, it can be relatively easily melted and recycled, regaining most of the original properties.

EPDM Colour, on the other hand, is more useful as a surface for multipurpose fields. Those are better suited at schools and smaller sports clubs, where one field gets used for many activities. They come in 24 colour variants to be able to design any patterns.

Why use rubber for football fields in the first place?

Humans are well fit to run on the ground. Natural, evenly sowed grass gives the athletes sure footing. It also ensures predictability of a ball bouncing off of it – crucial to keep up with a fast-paced game. But the obvious problem is that it requires regular watering and mowing, which generates significant costs over the years. Sunlight is necessary, too, as for all the plants. But it can get scarce in cold months or wherever the tribunes or roofs cast large shadows. Also, wearing down and often total destruction of the grass is imminent, especially near the goals. It takes a lot of attendance to keep the surface smooth and even on consecutive games and training.

Synthetic fibres with rubber infill strive to mimic the mechanical properties of real grass without its disadvantages. They don’t require sunlight or watering, though cleaning might be helpful. They can get much more durable than the grass on soil to withstand years of pounding with human feet. Rubber granules for football fields are a necessary ingredient of modern artificial turf. STARGUM supplies this high-quality material in any quantities requested.