The student-athletes in Bibb County will see the “latest and greatest technology” to hit the artificial turf market when the gates open at the Ed Defoe Sports Complex later this year.
“We chose the turf, but what we did with that was we put a pad underneath there,” Athletic Director Barney Hester said. “It is called a Brock Pad. On the football field we are using a new product that Brock has just come out with called Brockfill.”
The Bibb County artificial turf fields will be one of the first installations of Brock’s innovative infill, BrockFILL. The system relies on Brock PowerBase/YSR to provide impact absorption for heavy falls and also to provide a consistent playing surface for the athletes. When combined with the non-resilient BrockFILL artificial turf infill, the system more closely mimics a great natural grass field than any other system.
“When you are dealing with turf it is a somewhat more expensive but I don’t think you can take a lesser product,” Hester said. “You always have to look at the dollars and cents, but if you are going to spend, then you have to spend on safety over aesthetics.”
It means a lot to the Brock employees that a project in Georgia is one of the first to get the full BrockFILL-Brock PowerBase/YSR system. The state has provided Brock with incredible access to the abundant, natural resource used to make BrockFILL and the student-athletes within Bibb County may have friends and relatives working in the forestry industry the company depends upon.
“We could not be more proud to be working with the administration at Bibb County to help provide a safe, high performance playing environment for their student-athletes,” said Ronnie Pascale, Regional Vice President at Brock. “At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about – making sure these kids have the best experience possible without worrying about their safety.”
The field will also contribute directly to the Georgia economy because BrockFILL is sourced from sustainable tree farming in the southern U.S. and manufactured in the state.
“Sustainability is an incredibly important moral obligation for everything we do at Brock,” said Dan Sawyer, CEO of Brock USA. “Georgia is a pioneer in sustainable tree farming for huge industries like paper and biofuels. Now the state is the source for an abundant organic, artificial turf infill that will change the face of the industry. ”
The Brock PowerBase/YSR artificial turf system is also sourced and made in America. Brock’s PowerBase shock pads are the only shock pad systems available to receive Cradle to Cradle Environmental Certification. This means the products will never end up in a landfill. The pad is re-used over and over as the turf is replaced. But if a field is ever replaced with a building or parking lot, the shock pad is retrieved, sent back to the factory, washed and remolded to make a brand new pad. BrockFILL also has an environmentally sustainable end of life plan. When the turf needs to be replaced the BrockFILL artificial turf infill is used as a highly effective organic soil amendment for natural turf right on the same campus.
The BrockFILL-Brock PowerBase/YSR system is also one of the highest performing systems in regards to heat, durability, abrasion from sliding, and impact absorption. To learn more about the performance of these systems visit the BrockFILL and PowerBase/YSR pages.
