FieldTurf CEO in the New Jersey Star-Ledger: Company Stands Firm on its Products

By Eric Daliere

As Walter Cronkite once said, "In seeking truth, you have to get both sides of a story." The Sunday Star-Ledger story on FieldTurf ("The 100-yard deception") has sparked a lot of misconceptions about the company and its actions, which is why I want to take this opportunity to set the record straight.

Is this simply the typical obligatory response from a CEO when a media outlet paints his company in a negative light? Not if you believe that facts matter.

In the past week, we have heard or read the following: The Star-Ledger uncovered new emails revealing that we sold defective playing fields and covered it up, fields are failing in New Jersey because of this issue, and taxpayers are being ripped off.

Each of these statements resulted from The Star-Ledger story, and we know them to be inaccurate and not reflective of who we are as a company.

The fact is that the evidence and data show the Duraspine UV issue has not caused, and will not cause, fields to fail during their warranty periods in New Jersey. The story makes its argument to the contrary by showing several fields that looked older as they aged. This part they got right. Fields do age. Just as a tire loses tread over time, splitting and fibrillation is normal for fibers -- it is not itself the sign of a defect.

Furthermore, the numbers speak for themselves: Of the 114 Duraspine fields installed in New Jersey that have passed their eight-year warranty period, only 14 have been replaced. Those replacements were due to normal wear, and 12 of those customers chose a FieldTurf field a second time. The other 100 of these fields that have passed their warranty period are still being played on. The truth is the vast majority of customers in New Jersey have been happy with their product and taxpayers have received good value.

Let's also review the issue of the emails in the story.

Emails taken out of context can be misleading. What they show in this case is certain employees expressing that the Duraspine product was not going to be the major breakthrough FieldTurf's former supplier had led them to believe it was. Was there some initial concern and disappointment? Absolutely. But there is a difference between what the story alleges and people expressing disappointment about a product, while still believing it will meet or exceed warranties and be as good as or better than the alternatives on the market.

Of course, there are customers who, following the publication of the story or when contacted for it, questioned their product -- even if they were happy with it until now. We understand this reaction and are committed to setting the record straight with all stakeholders.

To be clear, there was a problem with the Duraspine product. I joined FieldTurf in late 2009. In 2010, I became concerned that the fiber was wearing out earlier than our supplier promised us in certain environments. We initiated an investigation and determined that in high-UV (sunny) areas, this was the case. We sued the fiber supplier, declaring what we believed the defect to be and stating which types of customers we expected to be impacted. We did not hide from it. In fact, the emails in The Star-Ledger story were taken from the public record in that litigation.

FieldTurf has been proactive in dealing with this problem, and began manufacturing its own fiber to ensure quality control. In high-UV markets where Duraspine has been an issue, we replaced fields and cooperated closely with our customers. We have worked hard to make things right for these customers, and the vast majority have been happy. How can we prove this? Most have remained FieldTurf customers.

Facts matter. In this case, we believe that once all of the facts are heard and understood, it will be clear that we have been committed to doing right by our customers.

Eric Daliere is chief executive of FieldTurf.