TargaPro Turf Systems
Benefits of installing a TargaPro Synthetic Turf System
The benefits of the TargaPro synthetic turf system fall into four categories and will quickly convince you that there are no other choices. Where initial cost comparisons may show grass to be a less expensive initially, there are a number of reasons why a TargaPro turf system will be a far better value in the long term. It is only the up front costs which preclude the immediate installations of these systems. They are clearly more cost effective - both saving money in maintenance costs as well as showing significant environmental and field usage benefits.
- Annual and Long Term Reduced Maintenance Issues
- Environmental Impact and Health Issues
- Field Utilization and Revenue Generation Issues
- Technologically Superior Design and Guarantee Issues
The following detail will convince you of the value of installing an artificial turf system now!
Annual and Long Term Reduced Maintenance benefits
Results in significant savings in both labor and materials costs -
- no more mowing,
- no more sodding or reseeding,
- no more fertilizing,
- no more pesticides to apply,
- no irrigation system to install,
- no more line painting before each game,
- reduced equipment maintenance.
Environmental impact and Health benefits
Provide both reduced damage to the environment and asset savings -
no infiltration of the water shed with chemicals
- immediate savings from significantly reduced water usage
- use of Organite™ (an anti-microbial) infill is totally recyclable
- no leaching of carcinogens from ground crumb rubber infill
- no ingestion of crumb rubber particles and absorption of lead into the body
- no "off-gassing" of PAH's released into the air from ground crumb rubber infill
- no urethane (hazardous materials) backings ensure ease of recyclability
- elimination of urethane and rubber infill's makes a TargaPro synthetic turf system 100% recyclable reducing hazardous material land fills and reducing costs
Do the ROI and you will immediately see that just the savings from the above reveal that the upfront costs of installing a synthetic turf field are quickly surpassed (normally within 5 years) and hence your artificial turf system becomes a valuable asset. With the expected life of the field to be in the 10 to 15 year range you will have a huge accumulation of savings over the 5 to 10 years after the field is paid for.
Field Utilization and Revenue Generation Issues
The average expected use of a natural grass field is in the range of 150 to 200 hours per season. Not withstanding the hourly usage limitation, there is the fact that if it rains a natural grass field often cannot be used for scheduled games, requiring massive rescheduling efforts on the part of the AD and coaches at every institution.
With a synthetic turf field not only can the same field be used for multiple sports it can be used more often and longer throughout the spring, fall and winter months when grass fields are not in sufficient shape to be played upon. With an artificial turf field the field is available for play essentially 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; and, it is available for a multitude of sports (football, soccer, lacrosse and even field hockey) and it can also be used for PE classes, the cheer leading squad and marching band practice.
Having the field available 24/7/365 also provides the opportunity to use the field for revenue generation to the local football, soccer and lacrosse clubs in the area for both practice and scheduled games. There is also the option to generate revenue for your facility by hosting concerts or other outdoor events without the fear of hurting the field. Your local county parks and recreation department may also be a source of revenue for events which they cannot host due to certain weather conditions.
Technologically Superior Design and Guarantee Issues
Because of how our systems are designed the following technological benefits accrue to you the owner.
-REDUCED INSTALLATION COSTS - The installation of one of our fields can potentially save you as much as $60,000 to $100,000 below the competition because we do not need to excavate and create a substrate field with elaborate piping as do many conventional systems. We stabilize the base and install a vertical to horizontal drainage system that directs rainwater to a perimeter drain system. Our Installation procedures also expedite the process so weather becomes less of a factor and target dates are more easily.
-GUARANTEED DRY FIELDS - With EcoFlo there will be no standing water, no chemical runoff, and games will not be canceled due to inclement weather or fear of field damage from use during heavy rainstorms. Once we stabilize the base (the top 4” of an existing field) the installation of the vertical to horizontal drainage design (EcoFlo™) provides a guarantee of water removal at a rate equivalent to a 50 year storm or 4.4” of water per hour (NB - Hurricane Katrina produced only 3.7” of water per hour). We provide a guarantee which no one else in the industry can provide since they have no control over water infiltration rates in the conventional designs they put forward.
-DIMENSIONALLY STABLE BACKING - Our dual primary and triple layer backing design provides the most dimensionally stable backing in the industry which means straight lines stay straight. See the EcoGreen66TM
technical specifications for more detail.
-NO FIBRILLATION - Our turf has a significantly increased product longevity due to the use of our 100% polyethylene true mono-filament yarns. We do not use spinneret generated yarns - yarns with a central spine and "wings" which break off -- nor do we use either parallel or honeycombed yarns - yarns which fibrillate and hence breakdown quicker because of ever finer fibers which tend to break off as well as increased UV degradation because of more exposed surfaces.
-NO FLY-OUT - We guarantee no fly out of the infill, which also eliminates displacement and the maintenance costs associated with the redistributing, leveling, spiking, or adding infill materials.We use a 66 ounce turf while most of the competition is still using a 40 ounce (or less) material. This density (as well as the micron thickness of the tufted yarn) allows us to significantly reduce the amount of infill required to meet low GMax specifications and results in no visible infill (and hence no fly-out) as well as a surface that has tremendous resiliency thus reducing significantly the tendency of the fibers to mat down.
-ENHANCED SAFETY FACTORS - Against industry testing standards, our turf systems are tested for shock absorption and how closely they compare to ground impact. Safety is enhanced due to the product’s true simulation of a “real grass” feel. Our turf system test results (initial GMax ratings) indicate the industry’s closest simulation to a “real grass” field impact. Moreover, our Ultimate GMax ratings provide a guarantee that GMax will never exceed predefined levels for the life of the product. Competing turf systems range from a spongy or springy feel leading to increased fatigue (PMax ratings), to a “as hard as” concrete feel; either can result in injury.
-IMPROVED HEALTH FACTORS - In an ever increasing effort to address both safety and health issues we have moved to utilizing only Organite ™, an anti-microbial infill (AMI), in our sports and recreational field installations. Organite™ is a polyorganic all natural, environmentally friendly compound which contains no synthetics and hence no PAH’s or any other known carcinogens. Neither does it contain any of the chemicals of recycled tire rubber which are suspected to cause reproductive or developmental toxicity. Organite™ is compliant with California’s Prop65 and hence does not even require warning signage in CA.
-IMPROVED ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS - Because Organite™ contains none of the carcinogens or chemicals which cause reproductive harm, concerns about respiratory exposure to particulates from rubber dust or silica sand; ingestion by children and athletes of unknown carcinogens in ground rubber infill's; as well as contamination of the aquifer through infill run-off are eliminated with this product. Moreover, the sole use of this product also addresses the significant problem – exacerbated by the inclusion of sand in the infill – of bacteria, fungi and mold growth within the infill depth.
-REDUCED HEAT ISLAND EFFECTS - While our previous all rubber in-filled fields provided lower surface temperatures than our competitors (due to appropriately less black rubber infill) the use of Organite™ marks a significant step forward in reducing heat buildup. Previously the only three ways to reduce the elevated temperatures of artificial turf surfaces was to:
- make the infill less visible or
- lighten the color of the exposed infill materials (to reduce the electromagnetic absorption) or
- to elevate the moisture content of the infill matrix to provide for a somewhat longer evaporative cooling period.
Unfortunately, the standard approach of adding sand to the infill matrix to increase moisture content significantly increases the problems associated with bacteria, fungi and mold growth within the infill. However, since Organite™ is an AMI, retention of moisture is not a microbial problem as it is with sand, and because Organite™ also contains a naturally occurring inorganic constituent which can absorb up to 240% of its weight in moisture, evaporative cooling is generated to a much greater degree over a longer duration. Where elevated surface temperatures are a real concern, the content of the water-retaining inorganic component can be increased (Organite™ HR) to provide an even more effective evaporative cooling cycle over a longer period of time.
Please contact us if you have questions or want more information about any of the issues discussed here - we look forward to meeting you.