A pitch-maker has invested £500,000 in its Cumbrian factory, pinning down its goal of global expansion.

SIS Pitches, one of the UK’s leading synthetic turf manufacturers, said this major investment in growing its stature comes after ‘unprecedented growth in global demand’.

Its clients include Celtic and Rangers, Saracens Rugby Club, and Loughborough University, among others.

The company, which makes pitches for football, rugby, tennis, and other sports, said it invested in two new tufting machines at its Maryport factory.

It will ‘more than double’ the site’s capacity, SIS said, and follows three years of controlled growth which saw SIS grow turnover by an annualised 30 per cent recently, resulting in it increasing its staff size by over 25 per cent in the same period.

Global expansion goals seem to be on track as last month saw the opening of a new office in Warsaw, Poland, establishing a Central Europe base.

This followed a similar investment in Saudi Arabia with a new office opened in Riyadh and the installation of a pitch at the Kingdom Arena in the capital. 

With the new machines in Maryport capable of reaching up to 600 RPM, it will now be able to design and manufacture products at a much quicker rate while using 20 per cent less energy, SIS boasted.

CEO George Mulan said the Maryport investment is ‘a commitment to our future as a UK-based manufacturer’, adding that machines will ‘have a real impact at both elite and grassroots level’.

SISTurf, the specific product manufactured at the Maryport factory, is made with a choice of monofilament or fibrillated yarns – or a mixture of the two – plus thatch support yarn.

It’s known for its durability and ease of use for groundspeople to maintain a consistent playing surface.