All ARENA project phase-1 tasks were successfully conducted on time and within the project period. The results of the phase-1 study were:
Business plan – a business plan and commercialisation strategy were prepared to ensure successful project implementation and product roll-out within the phase-2 project. The business plan included an overall synthetic turf installations market analysis to detect the main end-user needs, total market volume, main development trends and market opportunities etc. More narrow market overview of synthetic turf football stadiums´ end-of-life management solutions and equipment mapped current market bottlenecks, clients’ expectations and available solutions. Competition analysis mapped the currently available synthetic turf removal and recycling solutions and other similar technologies to assess the potential market size and development trends.
Patent study and freedom-to-operate analysis – Subcontracted patent officer performed a patent study and preliminary freedom-to-operate analysis at ASIE´s targeted markets. The patent study mapped similar patents and technologies to support the competition analysis. The patent study results and the freedom-to-operate analysis confirmed that ASIE´s product development is not in conflict with any other project or patents. ASIE´s complete synthetic turf removal and end-of-life management technology has technological uniqueness and novelty.
Manufacturability and technical development study – Within phase-1 project ASIE performed several technological feasibility assessments to achieve maximum operating efficiency according to ASIE´s underling synthetic turf end-of-life management principles. Best technological and operational solutions were searched for synthetic turf removal, infill separation and reinstallation/recycling/utilization phases. The technological feasibility assessment involved testing various technological concepts/prototypes, analysing ASIE´s operational strategy, involving external technical experts and setting the most feasible technological development strategy for the phase-2 project and ASIE´s further product development.
As a result of the feasibility assessment, ASIE has identified the most viable technological solutions for CRAB tool, made several preliminary tests to finalise Arena-Master´s infill separation technical concept, studied different plastics recycling options, analysed synthetic turf removal and recycling service operational flow and strategy and finally involved the main technological and business development partners. The manufacturability and technical development study has helped to form the most feasible product development plan and pointed out the main technological and operational bottlenecks that need to be addressed within phase-2 project.
Partner search – As the main partner search activity in 2015, ASIE visited the main synthetic turf industry conferences and trade fairs and formed many beneficial contacts with industry key members and potential clients. Based on these initial contacts, ASIE concentrated its following partner search activities mainly to targeted regions and key stakeholders. As a result of phase-1 partner search, ASIE has found very strong commercialisation partners that enable unlocking targeted markets. As a second objective in this task, ASIE formed partnerships with various technological and business development partners. This has also covered preparation phase for SMEI main project.