Waddinxveen, 24 July 2025 – SGL, the global market leader in sustainable pitch management solutions, has purchased the product rights to the U.S.-based company fLEX Standard Solutions as of May 15, 2025. With this acquisition, SGL will supply the technology, expanding its product portfolio with pitch performance testing technology, complementing its current offering of solutions designed to create optimal grass growth conditions in stadiums worldwide. The fLEX Device will be available within SGL’s product portfolio under the name SGL fLEX Systems later this year.
Expanding the product portfolio
The introduction of pitch performance testing marks a new product category for SGL, designed for both natural and artificial turf customers. The integration of the fLEX system into SGL’s product portfolio allows to connect performance data with agronomical insights. This helps grounds teams to better understand how pitch quality affects performance and how agronomic conditions can be adjusted to optimize both safety and playability.
This comprehensive approach offers sports organizations a complete ecosystem for optimizing field conditions, improving player safety, and meeting sustainability goals. It also opens up new opportunities in compliance monitoring and performance optimization, strengthening SGL’s position as a full-service solutions provider across all turf types and sports sectors.
“With this product purchase, we take an important step in our mission to help field managers deliver the best possible playing surfaces, regardless of the type of surface they are working with. We do this not only by enhancing grass growth but also by providing accurate performance data that supports both player safety and performance. I believe the SGL System will help field managers, coaches, and consultants create better and safer playing surfaces based on factual data.”
– Mark Trübenbacher, CEO, SGL
About fLEX Standard Solutions
The fLEX Device provides performance analysis and sports field testing data to sports teams and turf managers. The fLEX Device is a state-of-the-art product that replicates player-to-turf interaction using a real football boot equipped with high-precision sensors. This delivers objective measurements of agronomic conditions and pitch performance, producing data on field behavior that turf managers can use to make informed decisions, especially when it comes to player safety and surface performance. Simultaneously, the fLEX device measures loads experienced by the athlete during foot to surface impacts. Dr. Kyley Dickson joins the SGL team and will be responsible for the fLEX product category.
“We’re proud to join SGL and bring our technology to a wider audience. Our mission has always been to give turf professionals the tools they need to make fields safer and more consistent. With SGL, that impact can now be global.”
– Kyley Dickson (Director SGL fLEX Systems)
The University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee has been a strategic partner and validation authority for fLEX. The fLEX Device and methodology were co-developed and validated in collaboration with researchers from the university’s turfgrass science program and biomechanically validated. This academic involvement ensures that the performance testing aligns with scientific standards and real-world athletic demands.
“The development of the fLEX Device by Dr. John Sorochan and Dr. Kyley Dickson exemplifies how our faculty and researchers are advancing player safety and performance on a global cale. It’s exciting to see technology born in our labs now being adopted by industry leaders like SGL. This is the power of UT research in action.”
– Randy Boyd, UT System President
“Congratulations to UTRF startup fLEX Standard Solutions, LLC, especially UT inventors Dr. John Sorochan and Dr. Kyley Dickson, on this exciting acquisition. UTRF is proud to see UT’s innovation advance through SGL’s global platform, helping enhance the safety and performance of playing surfaces in stadiums around the world.”
– Maha Krishnamurthy, UTRF President
Looking ahead
In the coming period, SGL will engage with key industry operators to explore how their combined solutions can better serve the market and support end-users. Over the next few months, fLEX will be fully integrated into SGL’s product portfolio and made compatible with TurfBase, in preparation for its official launch.
Looking ahead, SGL will continue to embed AI into its tools, bringing together agronomic data, environmental conditions, and player movement metrics to deliver predictive, real-time insights for every type of playing surface.
