​There is a great buzz at Mexteds as the FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off, especially after having had a Mexteds’ stitching team over in Australia for five weeks helping to prepare their three FIFA stadium venues.

Our stitching technicians, Matt, Anthony and Wade joined an international crew working 24/7 to stitch Allianz, Coopers and Suncorp stadiums in Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane, working alongside HG Turf Groupand @SISGrass staff from Europe.

We shipped our SISGrass Universal machine over to Australia for the job, which saw four machines completing each stadium in a week.
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We’re super proud of our guys and seeing the stadiums in great shape as this much anticipated tournament gets underway.

After a challenging week with Cyclone Gabrielle, it was great to see the Wellington Blaze and Northern Districts women's cricket teams go head to head at Hutt Rec  in round 7 and 8 of the Hallyburton Johnston Shield.
Mexted Sports Turf’s groundsmen Kevin Wakefield and John McKessar had covered the wicket ahead of the storm, and when the covers came off on Friday were relieved to find the wicket still in very good shape. After rolling, marking and mowing the outfield, the covers went back on until Saturday morning, which dawned sunny and calm.
Kevin and John were kept busy during the match rolling between innings and were delighted with how well the wicket played in the first professional senior women’s cricket match to be played at Hutt Rec since 1990.
Alex Geenty from Cricket Wellington said the wicket played really well. "There were plenty of runs in it and it had pace and bounce that was in excess of what you'd expect from a club-level pitch."
Wellington Blaze took a convincing 154 run win over Northern Districts, in what was the first professional senior women's cricket match to be played at Hutt Rec since 1990, seeing them through to the HBJ final in Queenstown on 4 March.

​It was all hands to the pump at Sky Stadium after the incredible Ed Sheeran concert in Wellington in February, which drew a record 48,000 crowd.
10,000 square metres of turf had to be removed and replaced, where temporary flooring had been put down for Ed’s stage, vehicles and equipment.
A big team from Mexteds was on site on Waitangi Day to begin taking off the top 90mm of turf with three diggers operating. We then spread 864 tonnes of sand and power-harrowed it in to the existing sand layer to blend it together, before compacting the surface and then grading it to within 2 or 3mm using our Fendt 512 tractor fitted out with a box grader, controlled by our Leica Total Station, ready for laying new turf from Turflands in Palmerston North.
The following week HG Turf Group and a small team from Mexteds began the turf rollout and by the weekend the Stadium was sorted, ready for a busy calendar of sport in March.

​If you've driven through the Victoria tunnel recently, you've probably noticed the new 'giant greenhouse' at Wellington College - a joint project by Cricket Wellington New Zealand Cricket and Ministry of Education NZ to build new covered practice wickets so cricketers can comfortably train 12 months a year. The aim is to produce future Wellington NZ Blackcaps and White Ferns.
Mexteds prepared the base for two artificial strips and two natural turf strips, installed an irrigation system, and placed the Patumahoe clay, before sowing.
Cam Mitchell, CEO of Cricket Wellington is happy with the result, saying the Mexteds' crew 'did an amazing job'.

Mexteds' new SISGrass stitching machine has almost completed its first job since arriving in the country from Europe, and given the interest it's generating, it'll be the first of many!
Stitching at David Farrington Park in Miramar, our duo of Clayton and Max had training from a SISGrass expert who flew over from Holland for the first week on the job. Since then they've stitched 560 square metres at a depth of 180mm in the high wear areas including goal boxes and umpiring tramlines.
Stitching didn't stop play, and at weekends the Miramar Rangers AFC were on the field as usual, before stitching resumed during the week.
With the FIFA Women's World Cup just 12 months away, we're fielding lots of enquiries about future stitching jobs around the country. Game On!

​MAKING A SPLASH! It was the big reveal for Mexteds' new SISGrass stitching machine at NZCIS - NZ Campus of Innovation and Sport in Trentham this week, as part of the Wellington Turf Managers Association field day. The weather didn't come to the party, sadly, but back in the warmth of the NZCIS cafeteria there were plenty of questions about the stitcher's capabilities from the turf managers, after a short presentation from Cameron Mexted.
The SISGrass stitching machine will be on the job for the first time next week at David Farrington Park, home of Miramar Rangers AFC, where we'll be stitching the goal mouths, alongside a trainer from SISGrass who's coming out from Holland to ensure we're up to speed in operating this great piece of kit.

DAVID FARRINGTON PARK: What a difference a week makes! The grass is looking lush just a few days after our operator Brent Dornan finished sowing turf grass at David Farrington Park, home of the Miramar Rangers AFC. Mexteds has been renewing the surface after a build up of organic matter and weeds in the old profile. Starting before Christmas we planed off the surface 100mm, and then replaced it with 80mm of fresh clean sand, and re-levelled it before sowing.
Once grow-in complete, the park will be hybrid-stitched in the high wear areas with 5% soft polyethylene yarn with our new SISGrass stitching machine, due to arrive in the country soon. It's a system used in many high profile stadia and pitches in Europe and we can't wait to get started! Game on!

The Mexteds crew were keen to get back to Fraser Park after lockdown to complete the upgrade of Fraser Park #1 field in Lower Hutt.
The original soil-based field had no drainage, and Hutt City Council engaged Mexteds to convert it into a top-grade sand carpet field.
In late May we began reshaping and relevelling the surface, prior to installing collector drains and primary lateral drains. Our irrigation manager, Rob Willis, also designed and installed an automated irrigation system.
At Level 3 we were finally able to get back to the job and it was all hands to the pump to install sandslit drains and finish the sand carpet on the #1 field. We also planed off and resurfaced the #1 cricket block with Patumahoe clay.
Now it’s just a waiting game as we wait for the grass to strike.

CONGRATULATIONS to Mexteds’ groundsman, Kevin Wakefield, after Hutt Recreation Ground was named Cricket Ground of the Year by Cricket Wellington at its 2021 Awards night.

Captains and umpires rate the pitches each week during the cricket season and Kevin’s passion and pride in his preparation work - mowing, rolling and irrigating the wickets - came up trumps.

​It’s the third time Hutt Rec has won Cricket Ground of the Year during Kevin’s 16-year tenure as groundsman, following 25 years at Bryan Heath Park, Wainuiomata, where he says he learned 80% of what he knows. Now Kevin’s enjoying passing on his know-how to the younger members of Mexteds’ Hutt parks maintenance crew.
Game On!

After 17 years of history the hallowed turf of Eden Park's Number One field is being replaced.
The team at Mexteds Sports Turf has been removing the old turf and preparing the surface ready for the rollout of the new HG Hero Eden Park Edition turf.
Mexteds has been involved in the initial survey, design work, and using our automated machine control on the project.
Throughout the process, industry best practice has been followed, which meant excavators removed the old surface to  minimise the amount of waste material.
Cameron Mexted says, “We needed to remove all the old Motz turf but also minimise removing clean sand beneath it – this was a big consideration throughout our planning and execution of the works”.
Mexteds then 3D levelled the subgrade to mimic the final design levels, before importing around 800 tonnes of new sand.  The new sand was then 3D-levelled, combined into the underlying sand and consolidated.
"Everyone has worked together very well to overcome a number of challenges that come with a project of this significance."
Eden Park’s Turf Manager, Blair Christiansen, says the project has been years in the making. "It's been a collaborative effort to ensure we deliver the best possible outcome for New Zealand's national stadium."
​Check out how it all happened in this video: tinyurl.com/yxorexpa
Game On!