Greenfields, Domo Sports Grass, and Edel Grass, together with their yarn supplier TenCate Grass, have issued a warning to inform the market that they may experience delays.
In a joint letter, the companies point to various supply chain issues as a cause for the disruption. Partly to blame is the unexpected high volume that was ordered at the start of this year, something that was exacerbated by the extreme winter the US state of Texas experienced relatively late in their winter season. The subsequent freezing of powerlines and power generating facilities saw power supply to large parts of the state being disrupted. With one essential component for the production of synthetic turf for hockey being sourced from companies in this area, production of this component was down to zero.
The unavailability of shipping containers is adding insult to injury. Following an outbreak of COVID at two major container terminals in China, both ports were completely closed. Once they commenced operations, a ship blocked the Suez Canal for six days in March this year, further disrupting the movement of shipping containers.
The companies assure their clients and the market that they are doing the best they can to solve the issues. However, it is likely that the problems will continue for the remainder of the year.