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PLANT TIMELINE
1968: Dayton, Tenn., plant built by Chevron Phillips1982: Local investors buy plant; name changed to Polyloom Corp.2001: TenCate purchases the factorySource: TenCate
DAYTON, Tenn. - Matt Stubblefield recalls that a new TenCate-made synthetic grass football field was installed at nearby Cleveland High School not long ago.
The New England Patriots soon heard about the new turf, a couple of its officials traveled to Cleveland to check it out in person and the NFL team later placed an order for its indoor practice facility.
"People all over the world buy from us. We send it to Japan, Mexico. We send it anywhere," said Stubblefield, who is vice president of operations for the TenCate synthetic fibers production plant in Dayton that last month marked its 50th year.
While Dutch-based TenCate is a long-time business in Rhea County, the company over the past two years has plowed about $5 million in capital investments into the facility that employs 225 people, said Stubblefield.
TenCate recently started up a new loom at the plant, which now helps the facility to produce about 15 percent of its finished product, he said. TenCate also has a Dalton, Ga., factory.
Dayton is TenCate's American headquarters. More than 30 percent of all synthetic sports fields in U.S. feature TenCate yarn, according to the company.
Still, there's a shift going on in terms of TenCate's business. Once, 80 percent of its finished product went into sports fields such as for football or soccer, Stubblefield said. Today, synthetic grass used in landscaping has captured about 40 percent of the business, he said.
Earlier this year, TenCate bought a controlling interest in a longtime Dalton venture, Challenger Industries, to create the largest landscape turf business of its type in the United States.
Dalton-based Challenger was the largest independent manufacturer of artificial grass, serving the landscape, sports and residential markets. The company employs about 100 people at its 250,000-square-foot facility in Whitfield County.
Last year, TenCate revenues from its Dayton site hit about $80 million, Stubblefield said. He expects them to continue to go up, though he didn't have a number for this year.
The company is becoming more vertically integrated, from production of the yarn used in making synthetic grass to installation, he said. That all helps the bottom line, Stubblefield said.
Dennis Tumlin, the county's economic and community development executive director, termed TenCate a "solid company" and "a pillar" in Dayton.
"They're still investing into the plant," he said. Also, Tumlin said, TenCate recently closed an Atlanta sales office and brought those 14 employees to Rhea County.
Sam Wills, regional director for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, called TenCate "a major player" in its industry and "a stalwart" in Rhea County over the years.
"They're looking at other opportunities," he said, citing new technology TenCate has introduced into the plant. "It gives them a competitive advantage."
TenCate bought the Dayton plant in 2001. It was originally built by Chevron Phillips, according to Stubblefield.
Ten employees have worked at the plant for more than 30 years, and three more for 40 years, he said.
The plant, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, makes upwards of 32 million pounds of yarn annually, Stubblefield said. A benefit of TenCate's product is that it holds up under the sun, with the production process helping its fibers to "stand up better and stronger," he said.
The company hauls in its base resins and ultra-violet stabilizer, compounds them with dye, and then extrudes them into fibers used in its products, Stubblefield said. The extruders produce sheets of its product, which are then sliced into strips of yarn and run onto the array of bobbins at the factory.
Production of the company's sports turfs can include the lines used in marking a field's dimensions and even team logos, Stubblefield said.
The TenCate plant makes about 130,000 pounds of yarn a day, with production scheduled around sales, Stubblefield said. Turf production for athletic fields often occurs in the warmer months.
"Everyone wants the fields installed before school starts," the TenCate official said.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.