Making Artificial Grass - The British Way

How artificial grass is made is something of an enigma to most people and this is where we, as the UK's premier artifical grass manufacturer, can help de-mystify the process.

Our artificial grass factory is the oldest in Britain and our grass products have been used in just about every sphere of activity - from sports applications to people's back gardens and children's play areas to display purposes in supermarkets, grocery stores and trade fairs/exhibitions. So we know the product inside out.

Manufacturing artificial grass involves a number of specially trained staff all of whom have their own specific tasks in the production process. Essentially, manufacturing artificial grass splits into 3 key stages - the tufting operation (weaving of the grass carpet), the backing plant operation and the inspection process. Quality control checks play an important role in our manufacturing and we employ stringent and detailed checks throughout the process, using only top quality yarn, primary backing and latex.

The Tufting Operation
The collector board feeds the yarn through threading bars and yarn detectors down to the needles where it is stitched into the primary backing. As the tufted primary backing comes off the machine (having been checked by factory inspection staff), it goes through a lapping frame to be lap folded into lapping barrows. Lap folding is important as it helps preserve the quality of the tufting - rolling the product up at this stage would risk pile distortion or damage to the backing stitches.

The Backing Plant Operation
The tufted primary backing is transported to the backing plant in rubber wheeled, lapping barrows where it undergoes 'tip to tail sewing'. The latex coating is applied to the finished, tufted material and a special scraping blade (aka doctor blade) scrapes off the latex ensuring the correct weight per square metre. The product then goes into the ovens for curing and, once out of the ovens, is fed into the perforation unit. This is where the draining holes are punched into the material and then the final product goes to the accumulator. This allows the grass carpet to be stored whilst re-rolling and further inspection is carried out.

More detailed information on the manufacturing and inspection procedures we adopt in the manufacture of our artificial grass products can be found here.

We also have our own, specially produced video of how artificial grass is manfuactured.

Nativity Grass

Regular readers of our blog will already know about our white artificial grass which is popular for Santa’s Grottos – see our special feature this time last year.

White artificial grass has a wide range of applications, especially at Christmas – from shop window dressing to theatrical and stage use as well as in schools and nurseries. Using some of our snow grass at home in your conservatory is another option; a great way to enhance a display of Christmas cards or perhaps things your children have made specially for Christmas.

This photo was taken last week in the pedestrian area of Carlisle city centre where thousands of shoppers will pass through over the coming weeks on their way to do their Christmas shopping. Amongst the tall, green Christmas trees and array of coloured lighting, one thing stands out as special – a Christmas nativity scene which dazzles with white lights, all standing on a base covered with artificial grass.

However, it is not white artificial grass but green. Why? Well, we’re not entirely sure but it could be one of two things …

the builders did not know at the time that white artificial grass is even available

because a display of white figures with white lighting on white grass would not offer sufficient contrast, hence green artificial grass offered the perfect compliment.

Either way, it’s another endorsement of how artificial grass has a myriad of uses in situations where natural grass just would not work.