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Platform for the management and construction of sports and golf courses
To get the pitches ready to play, football club Lommel SK has long counted on the team of greenkeeper Wim Fluyt. Since last summer, the expertise of Footline has also been involved. The Willebroek-based company supplies football goals, goal nets, lineation paints and equipment for both the competition and practice fields.
Footline was born in 2012 as a passion project of Marc Tratsaert. What started with a single high-quality line paint for football pitches has now grown into a six-strong company and a one-stop shop for the complete equipment of sports clubs at both professional and amateur level. “With Lommel SK, part of the City Football Group, we have added a very nice reference to our portfolio,” Marc says proudly.
Marc found his way to Lommel through his lining paints. “John Ledwidge, the head greenkeeper at Manchester City, swears by Pitchmark's paints and lining equipment. And let our Footline just be the exclusive main distributor of those high-quality sports lining paints in Belgium. Lines are really our core business and we therefore offer the full Pitchmark product range, from concentrate paints to ready-to-use grades and other products.” According to Marc, however, a quality product is only one part of the equation. “The service has to be right too. For us, that is an absolute priority. There are now six of us and we can boast a lot of experience and expertise. We work future-oriented, offer the necessary advice and have an eye for the practical concerns of a club. For example, when the Lommel SK football goals needed replacing, we very quickly delivered new ones to the club. In case of problems, we try to provide a solution the same day.”
In addition to Pitchmark's lineation paints and new football goals, Footline has since supplied the necessary goal nets and two new lineation devices. “Lommel SK opted for hybrid lining equipment, truly the Rolls-Royce among lining equipment. Instead of pneumatic tyres, these devices have wide full wheels. In combination with the large discs at the front, this ensures excellent stability, allowing the unit to keep its straight line very nicely.”
Footline itself works mainly with the Linemaster: a state-of-the-art lining machine that, thanks to built-in GPS and satellite technology, ensures a result that is perfect down to the last millimetre. “Although most clubs have their own lining equipment, it still happens regularly that we go on site to apply (new) lines. It is a service we offer to our customers, for example at the beginning of the season, when no lines are visible yet, or when mistakes have happened. The Linemaster then provides a guaranteed correct result.”
From 2025, Footline will further expand its own services with the Turf Tank 2 robotic liner. Marc: “The handy thing about the Turf Tank 2 is that this robot lineiner can be used not only for football pitches, but also for rugby, American football, training pitches and smaller fields. Clubs can therefore line their fields very precisely and efficiently with the Turf Tank 2, regardless of the type of sport or dimensions.”
