Going for gold

By Lia Bichel
Sports Technology International (STI) received a major contract to design and manufacture an elite hockey pitch for the Major Dhyan Chand National Hockey Stadium in Delhi.
The Australian leading supplier of artificial turf and sports surfaces is part of Dandenong’s Advanced Polymer Technology Group which develops high performance materials and coatings using advanced polyurethane technology.
STI is one of 47 Australian companies delivering contracts worth more than $83 million for the Commonwealth Games.
Advanced Polymer Technology Managing Director Dr Martin Schlegel said the awarded contract was a massive benefit to not only the Dandenong business, but to the Australian field hockey teams.
“(The contract) has confirmed our position as the leader of elite hockey surfaces in our part of the world,” he said.
“And it’s almost like our teams get a home turf advantage.”
Mr Schlegel said the local product gave athletes a faster play and more accurate ball roll compared to pitches manufactured by other industries.
It also uses 40 percent less water prior to the game.
But it took many years to perfect.
“The product is a result of multiple years of research and previous failures,” Mr Schlegel said.
“We have listened to athlete feedback about our previous surfaces. While the feedback was OK, we take their comments into account and use it in our next approach.”
The Delhi Commonwealth Games contract can be added to the company’s long list of achievements.
Mr Schlegel said they had designed and manufactured products for the Beijing Olympics, Sydney Olympics, Melbourne Commonwealth Games Melbourne, Asian Games and provided track and hockey fields for the first Youth Olympics in Singapore.
He is currently waiting to see if the company received a contract for the London Olympics in 2012.
“The contracts for supplying World Cups and Olympic and Commonwealth Games products and services are hotly contested by organisations all around the world,” he said.
“Austrade helped Sports Technology at various major sporting venues over recent years, particularly with networking and introductions to key representatives for future events such as the London 2012 Olympic Games and the Glasgow 2014 FIH World Cup.
“These relationships were cemented through Austrade’s Business Club Australia (BCA) program during the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games and again in China for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.”
Business Club Australia (BCA) is the Australian Government’s official business networking program at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
The introduction of Australian suppliers to international games and events has been a joint effort of Austrade, Industry Capability Network (ICN) and the Australian International Sporting Events Secretariat (AISES). This initiative has the support of the Australian Government’s Supplier Access to Major Projects (SAMP) program and the state governments of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.