Grassmaster

For the world’s market leader in hybrid grass solutions, VDL has developed a fiber injection machine.

The principle of artificial fiber improved grass has been invented and refined by our customer since the late eighties. Artificial grass fibers are injected in natural soil enabling the roots of natural grass gradually grow in between these fibers, this will merge in to a solid play base. An average of 20 million High Performance Fibres (HPF) are required per field in order to create a reinforced natural grass playing surface that is proven to last for up to 15 years or more.

These hybrid grass playing fields represent the optimum balance between artificial and natural grass, combining and benefiting from the best features of two worlds.

In 2018 VDL was approached to support them to develop a new generation of machines for installing these playing fields efficiently, and to cope with the challenges of today.

At the start of this journey there was not much more than a concept with some specific requirements as well as a couple of desired improvements. The challenge was to have an efficient machine which maximizes output without compromising the quality or consistency.

Based on the concept VDL has developed a prototype which was extensively tested and optimized for capacity, quality and reliability.

Iterating on the prototype version further development steps resulted in a compact and future proof, emission free machine meeting all specification as set out by our customer. Due to its compact size, the machine is a lot easier to maneuver and transport.

Since delivery, these machines have successfully installed numerous playing fields at the most prestigious football clubs and stadiums worldwide.