Sports Field Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: SFHI), through wholly-owned subsidiary FirstForm, Inc., is a product development company focused primarily on the design and construction of athletic facilities and the commercialization of its proprietary PrimePlay™ synthetic turf products within the sports industry. The FirstForm brand, which was originally announced in April of this year, highlights SFHI’s position at the forefront of the U.S. turf industry, which is bolstered by the company’s unwavering commitment to putting the safety and experiences of athletes first, through both product and facility innovation. To date, this commitment to excellence has played a key role in SFHI’s success in securing a number of high-profile jobs across the country, including playing surfaces at the ESPN Sport Science Lab in Burbank, California, and the renowned IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
“Our new brand communicates to both current customers and potential customers that we continue to put our customer FIRST as we help them to FORM their vision into reality,” Jeromy Olson, chief executive officer of SFHI, stated in a news release earlier this year. “We look forward to providing continued excellence in our products and the delivery of world-class athletic facilities to the entire community of sport across the nation.”
Just before unveiling its rebranding efforts, SFHI announced that it was awarded its largest purchase order in company history for the creation or replacement of eight athletic fields owned by Richland County School District One in Columbia, South Carolina. The company beat out five major competitors to land the $5.8 million purchase order, and it’s successfully capitalized on the momentum provided by this contract in recent months.
In August, SFHI’s new PrimePlay™ turf systems were highlighted as a favorable alternative to potentially dangerous crumb rubber turf fields by the National Council of Youth Sports (NCYS), which represents over 200 member organizations serving more than 60 million registered youth athletes. FirstForm, Inc. was also approved by the NCYS as a ‘Recommended Provider’ of the replicated grass systems. In a recent news release, Olson took the opportunity to point out the important differences between existing crumb rubber turf products and SFHI’s PrimePlay™ alternatives.
“Existing crumb rubber turf products on the market are known to contain carcinogens, and their safety has been challenged by numerous national agencies,” he noted. “FirstForm’s infill products are all natural and organic and do not shift during play. We believe they are better and safer than anything else out there and can be tailored to nearly every sport.”
Leveraging this versatility, the company has also made moves to capitalize on new and emerging market opportunities by targeting the fast-growing indoor soccer and lacrosse facilities markets. This strategy appears to be sound, particularly when studying the current sports landscape across the country. According to data from IBISWorld, the indoor sports facilities market is valued at more than $900 million, and no companies currently have a dominant share of the niche. In order to better position itself within this market, SFHI has enlisted recognizable brand ambassadors from across the sporting community, including future NFL Hall of Famer Ray Lewis and former MLB pitcher Rick Honeycutt.
With a proven track record across multiple sports on both indoor and outdoor projects, SFHI’s potential for growth in the coming years is immense, and demand for sports turf appears to be on course to support this performance. According to a 2015 report by research firm ReportsnReports.com (http://dtn.fm/4QUwK), rising demand for quality playing surfaces is expected to spur a compound annual growth rate of 12 percent for the global artificial grass turf market from 2015 to 2019. With ongoing investigations into the safety of existing crumb rubber turf products, this forecast positions SFHI to greatly expand its market share moving forward.
“The safety and risks associated with crumb rubber remain an unknown to athletes, parents, and athletic facilities nationally, and we at Sports Field support the government’s investigation into their long-term health impacts,” concluded Olson. “We are pleased to be installing our unique alternatives with PrimePlay™. Our rubberless Replicated Grass™ and similar sport-specific turf products offer a compelling, crumb rubber-free solution in the industry.”
For more information, visit http://ir.firstform.com
