Chris van Genugten's artificial turf year 2024: the definitive breakthrough of mineral infill

ARTICLE

ARTIFICIAL TURF

Hein van Iersel, Thursday 12 December 2024

135 sec

'The result of hard work and continuous development by our team'

Looking back on 2024, Chris van Genugten is particularly proud of his team's achievements in the field of mineral infill. The company Tarkett Sports, where he serves as Regional Director Benelux & Nordics, installed approximately 800,000 square meters of artificial turf in the Netherlands and Belgium in 2024. The vast majority (about 95%) of this was for football. In the Netherlands, this accounted for about 75 fields, half of which featured mineral infill. A year earlier, there were only two or three pilot projects.

A brief history: in December 2023, Tarkett received its first approval for mineral infill. This was for a field based on the Ultra 360 construction. Shortly thereafter, in January 2024, Tarkett received a second approval, this time for the PureFieldUltra HD construction. Van Genugten explains: 'Of course, that KNVB certification was more than welcome, but we didn't fully grasp the impact it would have on our company. At the time, we actually believed we would be much more successful with a construction based on maize infill. In my 2024 plans, I had expected to install around five mineral infill fields and at least fifteen maize-based fields. That turned out quite differently.'

'Of course, that KNVB certification was welcome, but we didn't fully grasp the impact it would have on our company'

The background is quickly explained. In 2022, the EU decided that all polymeric infill should be banned by 2030. From 2031 onwards, such fields can no longer be installed, and infill materials like SBR, TPE, and EPDM may not even be traded. This decision naturally triggered a wave of innovation in the industry.

There are, of course, several natural infill materials, such as cork. However, alternative materials like olive pits and maize have also been developed. Chris van Genugten reflects: 'If you ask me now, I would have expected more from maize. In the end, we only sold five fields with maize infill throughout 2024.'

Client involvement

Chris van Genugten: 'For such an innovation wave, you absolutely need the cooperation of municipalities. Someone has to have the courage to initiate a pilot project. But once you have KNVB certification, you see municipalities making the choice. In a city like Tilburg, we were allowed to install five fields last year. The credit for these rapid developments largely goes to my colleague Rob Heusinkveld. He kept testing and refining the product. He was truly at the forefront of this success.'

Communication

When implementing a new mineral infill field, it is crucial not to impose it on clubs and municipalities. A mineral infill field plays and feels different—especially for those accustomed to SBR fields. Of course, everyone is looking for alternatives to SBR and other polymeric infill types, but clubs must adapt to the new field.

From a cost perspective, however, the transition is relatively straightforward. According to Van Genugten, there is no need to adjust to the costs. A mineral infill field is relatively affordable compared to a cork field. 'If you start with an infill layer of 10 to 12 millimeters, you should expect to completely replace that cork over a ten-year lifespan. That significantly impacts the total cost of ownership of your field. Roughly speaking, this means an additional €40,000 in material costs over the lifetime of your field.'

Future outlook

For 2025, Van Genugten expects even more mineral infill fields to be built. 2024 was already a strong year for the artificial turf market, with high market demand. He expects 2025 to be similar.

In terms of product innovation, developments will continue. One Polymer, an artificial turf mat made from a single type of plastic, is likely the next advancement. However, Van Genugten does not see a fully non-infill construction gaining traction anytime soon—mainly due to costs.

The net weight of a mineral infill artificial turf mat is around 2.7 kg per square meter. In contrast, a non-infill mat would weigh around 5 kg per square meter. This also adds significant costs and increases the carbon footprint.

This article was originally published on December 12, 2024, on the Fieldmanager website.

Tarkett Sports BV

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