StarLine Ultra-Friendly

StarLine Ultra Friendly is a zero-VOC, EPA certified “Design for the Environment” bag-in-a-box paint that is a companion to Pioneer’s Star Liner athletic field striper. StarLine Ultra Friendly is the world’s second EPA certified field marking paint. Pioneer introduced Brite Stripe Ultra Friendly, the world’s first EPA certified field marking paint, in January 2009.

“It’s important to our company that we continue to introduce additional Earth friendly paints that help relieve environmental stress and improve field surface health,” said Doug Schattinger, President of Pioneer Athletics. “The introduction of StarLine Ultra Friendly is further proof of our commitment to this standard.”

Brite Striper 3000-SP

The introduction of Pioneer’s Brite Striper 3000 SP brings self-propelled power, versatility, and affordability to their already popular airless sprayer. This new model features a breakthrough belt-and-chain drive system. Driven by a 5.5 horse power Honda engine, users will be able to drive the unit smoothly over rough fields due to the large pneumatic tires and floating spray box.

“The Brite Striper 3000 SP is the direct result of Pioneer listening to the feedback given by our customers,” said Mr. Schattinger. “The desire to have a self-propelled airless striper was high on the lists of many customers, so we made it a priority to offer such a product.”

FieldCrewzer Synthetic Turf Maintenance

Pioneer’s new Field Crewzer features a robust counter-rotating brush that lifts surface debris into a hopper while evenly returning infill back into the field. The Field Crewzer’s components are powered independently by a Honda GX 240 engine, as opposed to depending on a power take off (PTO) system. The entire unit can be pulled by any golf cart or utility vehicle.

“Standard care procedures for synthetic turf athletic fields have evolved tremendously in recent years, including the need to remove foreign debris and litter on a regular basis,” said Mr. Schattinger. “Our new Field Crewzer affectively accomplishes this task without the need for a large tractor or vehicle to pull or power the sweeper.”

Do you have any questions about any of these new products? Or have any ideas for other new products?

]]> http://pioneerathletics.com/blog/2010/01/15/pioneer-unveils-new-paint-and-equipment-at-2010-stma-annual-conference-and-exhibition/feed/ 0 http://pioneerathletics.com/blog/2009/10/19/superdome-synthetic-turf-paint-removal-process-put-to-test/ http://pioneerathletics.com/blog/2009/10/19/superdome-synthetic-turf-paint-removal-process-put-to-test/#comments Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:24:15 +0000 dschattinger http://pioneerathletics.com/blog/?p=173 Less Than 24 Hour Turnaround is No Problem for Crew

In 2009, the field crew at the Louisiana Superdome will have to convert the markings on their synthetic turf field on eighteen different occasions in order to host the New Orleans Saints, Tulane Wave, Allstate Sugar Bowl, R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, State Farm Bayou Classic, and the Louisiana high school state football championships. Six of these conversions have to be completed in less than twelve hours. With the use of Pioneer Athletics’ GameLine® removable synthetic turf paint and Blitz™ removal system, this tight timeline is not a challenge for the crew.

To date in 2009, the Superdome has already twice hosted a Saturday Tulane University home football game, followed by a Sunday New Orleans Saints game. Pioneer’s paint and removal system allows the field crew to completely remove all paint without any visible markings in only two hours. This includes removal of paint in both endzones, the logo on the 50 yard line, the 25 yard line league or conference logos, as well as the appropriate college or NFL hash marks.

“Before we started to use Pioneer’s GameLine® paint and removal system, it took a large crew multiple hours of scrubbing on their hands and knees to remove all of the paint”, said Randy Philipson, Director of Engineering & Operations at the Louisiana Superdome. “Now, our streamlined crew is able to remove all of the paint after a game in only two hours, with absolutely no ghosting. The simple three-step removal process saves us time and a lot of energy.”

Removal begins when Blitz GameLine® solution is applied with a backpack sprayer. Almost immediately, the paint’s bond with the synthetic grass blades will begin to separate. A second field worker then agitates the treated paint with a Blitz Remover machine, but something as simple as a deck brush can get the job done. Finally, any last remnants of paint are removed by spraying the turf with water from a basic garden hose. This process is so effortless that a smaller crew, such as a high school field crew of two, can finish the entire job in four to six hours. The Superdome is scheduled to encounter these quick field turnarounds four more times this season, including college football’s bowl season.

Watch a video of the GameLine removal process >

Now, we are able to evaluate the results of our tests on a wide variety of exciting projects…

• Various synthetic turf paint formulations were applied earlier in the year, baked on the turf under the hot sun all summer, and are now ready to be removed.
• Certain equipment has been tested under a wide variety of weather conditions, and improvements can now be designed.
• Various new Ultra-Friendly grass paint formulations are being tested for performance and shelf-life stability.

These are just a few examples of tests and product developments currently underway here at Pioneer. Of course it may be back to the drawing board for some of these modifications and formulations as they may fail our tests, however, some will succeed and be introduced as new products. And because of our testing practices, we are able to undertake projects that we would not have possibly considered only 5 years ago.

Being in Cleveland, Ohio, we benefit from being able to conduct tests during all 4 seasons – but we don’t experience the same extreme heat and humidity found in some regions. Luckily we have great partners around the country that are eager to help us improve our products and services.

If you have questions about any of the tests we run, or have suggestions on how we can improve our paints and products, please Comment below or Contact Us. Your feedback is greatly valued and appreciated.

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit with a bunch of coaches in North Carolina at the North Carolina Coaches Clinic. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of coaches that raved about the Star Liner.

The Star Liner was created because our customers asked us for a field paint that provided the convenience of Quik Stripe or Max Aerosol, but would give the look of Brite Stripe. We were also looking for ways to make our products more environmentally friendly. Therefore, we created a small, electric striper that pulled paint from a bag-in-the-box. This project took a couple of years development and testing, as we had to create both the paint and the striper from scratch.

Because of the feedback we’ve received from customers, we’ve changed and updated the Star Liner to be the machine it is today. Here’s a few of the more significant things we’ve done since we introduced the Star Liner in 2008:

• Completely changed the handle design to provide additional strength and user comfort
• Changed On/Off Switch and location to provide convenience and durability
• Added a computer processor to even the flow of electricity as well as provide a hi/low switch
• Extended spray tip forward for better visibility
• Moved the center plate and box position for better visibility

The coaches told me the Star Liner gave them a better line and was even easier to use than an aerosol striper – and they even camped out next to the machine telling everyone who passed.

Tell us about your experiences with the Star Liner, or any Pioneer products. We truly appreciate the feedback and use your experiences to make our products better. Leave us a Comment below or fill out our Contact Form to let us know your thoughts.

Watch a video of the Star Liner >

The challenge during this part of the year is making time to conduct testing at the University of Pioneer. Currently, we are testing a wide variety of synthetic turf aerosol products for durability and removability during the heat of the summer. Our research team has tested hundreds of varieties of aerosol chalk formulations to find one that rinses off all types of synthetic turf with no staining and no residue. (We have found that almost all aerosol chalks can stain light colored synthetic turf).

In addition, we are testing a variety of potential improvements in our grass paints. I am excited about what we are learning. More importantly, I am excited about the opportunity to develop products that will help our customers save time and money.

- Doug Schattinger, President

Do you have any ideas for improvements or additions to our line of paints for natural grass or synthetic turf fields? Leave us your feedback below.

Please stay tuned for new developments over the next few months!

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I also was able to visit the outdoor test plots close to campus. What a nice looking facility! They are able to grow seemingly every kind of grass. They had a bunch of plots that were in various stages of tests.

I am excited about a lot of the work they are doing. We hope to learn a great deal about making our products more effective, less impactful on different types of grass and more environmentally friendly. I learned more about sports turf in 3 hours with Dr. Miller than 3 years painting fields.

The research they are doing is truly fascinating. Dr. Miller and his colleagues are doing some great work.

Aerosol marking chalk meets quality and versatility with the unveiling of Pioneer Quik Stripe Chalk and the Quik System. Quik Stripe Chalk’s formula comes in convenient 18-ounce cans that can be sprayed by hand or applied using the Quik System’s Quik Stick and Quik Striper tools.

“We call it the 15-minute solution,” notes George Sajner, Pioneer Product Manager. “If you’ve got a temporary field to lay out or want to make some temporary marks on the path to a finished paint job then Quik Stripe Chalk Aerosol is your tool of choice, because it can dry on the field in about 15 minutes. And taking it off is as easy as rinsing with a hose.”

For comfortable freehand marking, the ergonomic hand-held Quik Stick is a perfect complement. For a rolling solution, the large 10″ semi-pneumatic wheels and handlebar paint control of the Quik Striper are tailored to deliver a quality Quik Stripe Aerosol application.

The entire Quik System – Quik Stripe Chalk Aerosol, the Quik Stick and the Quik Striper – is available exclusively through Pioneer Athletics starting today. More information and product ordering Click Here >.

“Design for the Environment” Designation is Industry-First

Pioneer Athletics announced today that its high-performing Brite Stripe Ultra-Friendly (www.ultrafriendly.com) has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency with the first-ever “Design for the Environment” designation for field-marking paint.

Brite Stripe Ultra-Friendly is completely free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and includes more readily biodegradable components than ever before. Intensive ingredient research contributed to formulation breakthroughs that help relieve environmental stress and improve field surface health. “Ingredients have always been the key to making our paints high-performing,” noted Pioneer President Doug Schattinger. “What’s different with Brite Stripe Ultra-Friendly is that we’ve taken our dedication to a whole new level that’s earned EPA recognition.”

“Field-marking paint is very different from other paints,” said George Sajner, Pioneer’s Product Manager. “Some people don’t give it a second thought, but what goes into a product like Brite Stripe Ultra-Friendly makes all the difference in terms of performance, safety and impact. That’s the approach that keeps us focused every day on better products for our customers.”

Brite Stripe Ultra-Friendly exclusively launches at the 2009 Sports Turf Managers Association Conference and Exposition beginning on January 13, 2009.