Stefan Diderich, Director General & CEO, ESTC

ESTC's Journey, Strategy & Future Targets 

Meet the committee leaders who turn ideas into action. This panel highlights how our knowledge, networking, advocacy and communications teams work behind the scenes – and how members can contribute their expertise to make a real difference.

Panel discussion 

• Taking a look at growth in demand by region and application
• Replacement
• What next ?

Nick Palmer, Consultant, AMI Consulting

• Footwear R&D: Focus Areas for Achieving Impact
• Footwear Product Offering: Design Intention vs. Real-World Use
• Shoe-Surface Interactions: Performance from a Footwear Perspective

Rory Tatterton,Manager Research & Sport Science, Innovation Footwear, Puma

- Impact of heat collector fields for sports facilities and their surroundings
- Ambition: making sports facilities future proof
- Development and (local) initiatives around heat collector fields in The Netherlands

Leander Lignac, Specialist Sustainable Sports Facilities, Knowledge Centre for Sport & Physical Activity (Kenniscentrum Sport & Bewegen)

Luca Girelli, the winner of last year's Personality Award, will have the honor of presenting the 2026 award to an individual who made significant contributions to the synthetic turf industry and to ESTC in the past year.  This awardee was selected through a vote by the ESTC membership.

Colin Young, Chair Task Force Yarn Durability

Gert-Jan Kieft, Kiwa ISA Sport 

Alastair Cox, ESTC

• Why regular maintenance is critical for safety and performance
• Extending lifespan and protecting investment
• Sustainability and environmental considerations
• Overview of the ESTC Maintenance Guidelines
• Practical recommendations for operators and owners

The presentation will present the outcome of the work carried out the ESTC Task Force Maintenance Guidelines.

Alex Bobeica & Daniel Owegeser, SMG

The panel discussion will cover the following topics : 

• Responding to negative narrative
• Demonstrating the positive impact of landscaping turf
• Sustainability and circularity
• Market development and perception
• The future of landscaping turf 

Confirmed panellists :

• Marco Pleijsier (Victoria Grass Group Landscaping)
• Frederic Rasschaert (Beaulieu International Group)
• Johan Kemel (Kunstgrascentrum) 
• Frenk Stoop (Synlawn)
• Antonio Candela (Realturf)

This presentation will elaborate on EPR in relation to advocacy activities in the State of New York to alleviate the rules for carpet recycling that could impact synthetic turf. 

Melanie Taylor, President and CEO, Synthetic Turf Council (STC)

• Outline of a newly awarded research contract focussed on UK practice for recycling end of life turf and shockpads
• Description of partners, programme and intended outcomes
• Opportunity to become involved for interested parties 

Paul Fleming, Professor Sport Surface Engineering, Loughborough University

An enjoyable evening with local food & entertainment !

• Synthetic Turf in UEFA's competitions
• EFTG Working group  
• Funding and construction of pitches 
  Lee  Guerriero, Stadium Operations & Pitch Expert, UEFA

A decision that changed our sport for ever 

• 2026 celebrates the 50th anniversary of hockey being played on synthetic turf - what impact has synthetic turf had on the sport?
• Some of the milestones we have passed since 1976
• Looking ahead, where will hockey's relationship with synthetic turf be in 10 years time? 
   

Alastair Cox, FIH

• Transition away from rubber crumbs sports infill in 3G pitches
• Recycle 100% of artificial sports surfaces
• Raising awareness of the problem and solutions

Barney Weston, Project & Relationship Manager, SportEngland 

- CEN : Key developments

- PEF Synthetic Turf : Status and next steps 

Alastair Cox, Technical Director, ESTC 

• Interest Group Shockpad 
• Interest Group Maintenance 
• Interest Group Infill
• Interest Group End of Life 
• Interest Group Water Management 
• Task Force PFAS 
• Task Force Yarn Durability
• Task Force PEF 

Presentation of the results of the Feasibility Study, carried out at the initiative of ESTC 

Online presentation by a representative from CassidyLevyKent

• Automated layout and takeoff: Converts site geometry and constraints into a detailed turf installation plan (roll orientation, seam placement, cut paths) with consistent, repeatable calculations.
• Material and time optimization: Evaluates alternative layouts to minimize offcuts/waste and rework, reducing installation time and improving resource efficiency.
• Process standardization and traceable outputs: Produces structured technical deliverables (cut list, quantities, seam map, step-by-step notes), enabling quality to be replicated across teams and projects.

Enrico Nevi, NBL Software

• No foreign materials – easier PE recycling
• No on-site waste – cleaner, safer working environment
• Fully electric hot air welding device – sustainable and future-ready

Thomas Frey, Sekisui Alveo AG

• Skin Injury Device update
• Lisport integration
• Surface rankings

Finlay Taggart, Sports Labs

• Noise is emerging as a major challenge for public wellbeing, particularly where sports facilities are located close to residential areas.
• Genan have developed a new way to upgrade the textile fraction from end-of-life tyres to create more sustainable solutions for this problem.
• Real-life testing of ELT textile in noise barriers as an alternative to mineral wool will be presented.

Michael Christensen, Genan

• New Linear Low-density polyethylene (m-LLDPE like) resins designed for artificial turf,
• Improved processability compared to incumbent solutions

Albert Carbonell, Dow

• Long-term performance monitoring of organic infilled artificial pitches.
• Organic infill mechanical behaviour - laboratory insights (to support field performance observations).
• Specific changes to maintenance strategies for organic infilled artificial pitches (relative to rubber crumb).

Zach Morley,Technical Surfaces 

• BIQ presents a sustainable performance infill as alternative to existing rubber granules, supporting player performance, safety and health, as well as environment. 

Jerker Funnemark, BIQ Materials

Stefan Diderich, Director General/CEO, ESTC