Full Of Glee - Artificial Grass Success

We're approaching the time when people are inclined to look back at the year and reflect on events. Where Artificial Grass Ltd is concerned, we are delighted to say that 2007 has been a great year. Our thanks go to all our customers, distributors, stockists and installers as well as the AGL team and our UK factory.

March saw the company's launch into the residential market for artificial grass sales and the summer months saw a veritable queue of new distributors asking to sign up to the AGL network; in July our artificial grass products received favourable UK national tabloid press coverage and in and September the company made its first major Trade Show appearance at the Glee Trade Show. Staged at one of the UK's largest event facilities, the NEC in Birmingham, the Artificial Grass Ltd exhibition stand received many visitors over the 3 days.

The variety of visitors and the range of applications for which they were interested in using artificial grass surprised even ourselves - and that's saying something!

Here are some examples:

• Landscapers


• Homeowners - lawns, small putting greens, city life use such as roof garden terrraces


• Shops - for window dressing and displays


• Construction companies - for everything from housing development gardens, roadside verges to swimming pool surrounds


• TV Shows

The results from the trade show have been impressive - new stockists and distributors signing up, new orders placed and one contact resulted in a TV Garden Makeover that included artificial grass made in our factory. Screened in early October, the programme had many viewers resulting in a rush of enquiries about the artificial grass lawn which was featured.

Bringing 2007 to a close is our new artificial grass product Snow Grass - its launch could not have been better timed for Santa's Grottos and Christmas shop displays. Whether your Christmas is a white one or not, may we wish all our customers, distributors and website visitors a very Happy Christmas!

Boat Decks – Avoiding The Odours!

We recently had an enquiry from a boat owner who explained some of the problems that boat owners face. Maintaining a boat is apparently a very time consuming business - for example, there are a number of ways in which a boat deck can be damaged. Things such as petrol spills, long term exposure to sea water and then of course, if you fish from the boat you also get the blood and waste from the catch. A boat deck is not an easy environment to keep clean and sterile.

What's the solution? Well obviously, normal carpeting is not a good idea; matting is possible but then it doesn’t always allow the water to run away. So that's not ideal either. A great option is to use artificial grass - the way it is made is ideal to withstand these types of conditions. Artificial grass is already widely used for applications as diverse as flooring for dog kennels and on football pitches.

If you use artificial grass on a boat, here are just some of the advantages you could enjoy:

1. Less easy to slip on when wet compared to a standard boat deck.
2. It will dry out quite quickly and will not “hold” moisture.
3. Easy to hose down and disinfectant can be used to sterilise if required.
4. Gives added protection to the decking from UV exposure.
5. Being UV resistant, its colour will not readily fade.

6. Required minimal maintenance.
7. Available in a variety of colours.

Going beyond standard boat decks, there are promenade decks of modern cruise ships. Reading up on them (we checked wikipedia), you'll find them generally described as enclosed with railing-lined "cutouts" and many have wooden decking recalling "the old days" of ocean voyaging.

Quality artificial grass carpet could be well used in parts of these decks, providing something more colourful and easy on the feet then solid, deck planks. Many modern cruise ships already use artificial grass for around swimming pools so it's nothing new as a concept for ocean travellers.

Artificial Grass & Swimming Pools

As the weather grows warmer we can expect to see more swimming pools installed in our gardens. Everyone knows how much fun a good pool can be but a little planning beforehand can help your garden cope with this new addition. It's quite usual to have a non-slip border around the pool (eg. rubber tiles) to help provide a soft surface for any falls or bumps. It also copes with the splash-back area as chlorine in water can damage a lot of materials.

However, once you get beyond the two or three feet of rubber tiles what do you do then? Think about the wear and tear from the sunloungers and when you come to mow the lawn how difficult it will be to keep the grass cuttings out of the pool. One solution is to install artificial grass as an outer border around the pool.

Advantages will include:-

1. Soft and warm surface to walk or lie on.
2. No mud patches where the grass is worn away by many feet or busy sun loungers. Less mud in the house and the pool!
3. Porous surface which will cope with any excess water.
4. Hard wearing and easily replacebale when damaged.
5. Suitable for covering hard concrete and especially where there are cracks in the surface.
6. Minimal maintenance needed.
7. Multi colour choice.
8. No grass clippings to go in the pool.

Altogether a rather neat way to complement the investment in your swimming pool.