Sport star’s perfect pitch
Maisha Frost
UK SPORTS surfaces supplier SIS Pitches is heading for a £55million plus turnover this year, after a string of stellar World Cup appearances and international contract wins for its ground-breaking turf technology.
Based in Maryport, Cumbria, the independent business designs and constructs synthetic, hybrid and natural pitches. From big ticket tournaments to club and training grounds, the portfolio includes football, rugby, cricket, hockey, golf, tennis and multi-use games areas.
For last year’s World Cup in Russia the company supplied six stadia, including the Luzhniki in Moscow which hosted the final, and also venues used in the Club World Cup staged in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in December and the Asian Cup held there earlier this month.
Sport’s global expansion and the double digit increase in the use of lower cost artificial pitches have been the background driver to the firm’s rise up a leader board dominated by multinationals.
But its operational model and build innovations are what underpin the move into the premier league of producers, says founder and chief executive George Mullan. “We offer a full service, controlling the whole process from design and manufacture of synthetic turf in our own factories, through to installation and maintenance. Customers know it’s just us they deal with – very important for trust and efficiency,” he explains.
Turnaround specialist Mullan acquired the business in 2001, then expanded Maryport as its HQ and built an international company with a network stretching from Ireland, the Netherlands and Russia to Turkey, the Middle East and Angola.
SISGrass is its flagship hybrid system deployed for high profile projects.
Combining 95 per cent natural grass stitched with synthetic fibres, the technology delivered by SIS Pitches’ pinpoint accurate machines reinforce surfaces, taking half the time of competitors. The resulting products last longer and provide more consistency for players.
For pitch rebuilds in the Middle East the grass came from the business’s own turf farm there.
“We’re a small company. It’s through innovation that we can compete on the biggest stages,” says Mullan who funds from profits and has just overseen a £1.8million investment in new plant at Maryport. This paves the way for the launch of new synthetic systems, with the latest infill, yarn, polyurethane and shockpads.
Introducing technology not available elsewhere in the UK the new coatings production line can deliver backings in both latex (more common in UK) and polyurethane (for overseas), increasing strength and durability.
Rolling out the green carpet in North America – a new key target market – has also begun with supply to National Football League team Green Bay Packers and a pitch in Toronto next month.
“Russia and the UAE have given us fantastic exposure but much of our business is not in the high-profile sectors but with colleges, clubs and schools,” says Mullan who is also making inroads into landscaping with BuzzGrass, its website selling artificial grass to emerging consumer and commercial markets. Increasingly popular among those with balconies and small plots, it also appeals to less able gardeners and schools. But with more than 424 staff, Mullan is in no doubt people are SIS Pitches’ best asset: “It all stems from choosing the right teams,” he says, “then leaving them to get on with their jobs.”
sispitches.com, buzzgrass.com