Polytan GmbH is a German manufacturer of

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...

systems and synthetic sport surfaces. It is based in Burgheim,

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, and is a subsidiary of Sport Group Holding GmbH.

History

Polytan was founded in 1970 as Firl + Schretter Sportstättenbau in

Neuburg an der Donau Neuburg an der Donau (Central Bavarian: ''Neiburg an da Donau'') is a town which is the capital of the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district in the state of Bavaria in Germany. Divisions The municipality has 16 divisions: * Altmannstetten * Bergen, N ...

and, initially, installed polyurethane-bound in-situ synthetic surfaces for sports facilities.Hofer, Joachim (2016-08-07). "Sport Group liefert Olympia-Kunstrasen". ''

Handelsblatt The ''Handelsblatt'' (literally "commerce paper" in English) is a German-language business newspaper published in Düsseldorf by Handelsblatt Media Group, formerly known as Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt. History and profile ''Handelsblatt'' was es ...

'', retrieved 2022-12-09. In 1995, Polytan started to develop synthetic turf systems and acquired a production facility for synthetic turf and polyurethane in

Grefrath Grefrath () is a municipality in the district of Viersen, in the western part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated in the Lower Rhineland region (''German: Niederhein''), which is located between the river Rhine and the borderlin ...

(

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

). In 2003, a coating and extrusion plant for synthetic turf was installed at the production facility in Grefrath. In the same year, the company acquired a

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

license to be able to provide turfs for official games. As organisations as FIFA and

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

increasingly accepted artificial turfs for professional sports in the 2000s, Polytan installed turfs in stadiums and arenas in various countries. From 2007 to 2009, Polytan bought production and installation companies in Australia, Germany and France. In 2019, the first sustainable artificial turf, LigaTurf Cross GT zero, was introduced. Since

ECHA The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA; ) is an agency of the European Union working for the safe use of chemicals. It manages the technical and administrative aspects of the implementation of the European Union regulation called Registration, ...

has proposed a ban on the synthetic application of

microplastics Microplastics are "synthetic solid particles or polymeric matrices, with regular or irregular shape and with size ranging from 1 μm to 5 mm, of either primary or secondary manufacturing origin, which are insoluble in water." Microplastics a ...

, which is still being discussed by the EU Commission, in 2020, Polytan has started to put additional effort into developing and installing sustainable tracks and turf systems made from recycled materials and Brazilian

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

.Bastian Sünkel (2020-08-01). "Kork statt Kohle", in: ''Fränkischer Tag'' (in German), retrieved 2023-01-18. With Poligras Paris GT zero, Polytan developed the world's first CO₂-neutral artificial turf for the field hockey arena for the

2024 Olympic Games The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Products

Polytan manufactures, distributes and installs high-speed tracks,Tobias Klingen (2010-10-21). "Kicken ohne Rasenmäher", in: '' Westdeutsche Zeitung'' (in German), retrieved 2023-02-02. all-weather courts, tennis courts and shock-absorbent surfaces, as well as synthetic turf systems and multifunctional playing fields. Polytan has been producing and installing CO₂-neutral artificial turfs since 2019. The LigaTurf Cross GT zero is used for professional training facilities, amateur and professional clubs, sports schools and municipal sports facilities. Poligras Paris GT zero is a CO₂-neutral artificial turf used for field hockey.

Company Structure

Polytan GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sport Group Holding. The managing directors of Polytan GmbH are Gregor Gaisböck and Mathias Schmidt. Polytan has 550 employees (as of 2023) and achieved revenue of 300 million euro in 2022. Polytan's headquarters are in Burgheim, with additional locations in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and Halle. An additional location is in France (Polytan France). Outside Europe, Polytan has branches in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

(

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

(

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

).Sport Group TopCo GmbH (2023-01-09). "Konzernabschluss zum Geschäftsjahr vom 1 January 2021 bis zum 31.12.2021". '' Bundesanzeiger''. (in German)

References

External links

Synthetic Grass
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polytan GmbH Artificial turf Companies based in Bavaria Neuburg-Schrobenhausen German companies established in 1969