1989

SofSURFACES had modest beginnings as a small but
committed regional supplier of poured-in-place (PIP)
safety surfacing for use underneath children’s playground
structures. During our initial years, our efforts were focused
on perfecting the art of installing poured-in-place materials.
Within those early years, however, we came to a conclusion
that dramatically changed the course of the company.

At a time when the company was grappling with the limits of
our PIP system, the inability to incorporate an engineered
design into the product, and the high dependency placed
on the skill of the installer, we also came to a realization that
we were installing a product whose final quality was largely
influenced by environmental conditions. Since we couldn’t
predict or control the weather, we recognized that we would
never be able to predict or control the quality or safety
performance of the final product.

This conclusion forced us to recognize that our desire to
lead the industry with high-quality, cutting-edge products
was simply incompatible with a poured-in-place system.

1992

SofSURFACES began to develop what has since become
the industry’s premier safety surfacing system. Fueled by
advancements in production and process technology,
SofSURFACES carefully began to develop a state-of-the-art
manufacturing process.

Consistent with our new direction came a commitment to
creating a product with a strong functional design element.
Our dedication to the SofTILE® design yielded many firsts
in the industry. SofSURFACES was the first company to
introduce the concept of a locking safety tile.

Although our original design was trade named Shiplap,
13 years and 4 design improvements later, the KrosLOCK®
brand entered the market. Significant advancements in
product engineering, the elimination of tile-to-tile separation,
and the ability to create a system that is truly vandal resistant,
were introduced through the KrosLOCK® system and con-
tinue to be in high demand today.

2001

Having successfully met the demands of our customers by
offering the vandal-proof KrosLOCK® system, our attention
was turned to another industry first; our hollow-core impact
pedestal. Built into the underside of the tile product, this
design breakthrough accomplished something the industry
as a whole previously considered unattainable.

By relying on the mechanical recoil action of the impact
pedestal, the hollow-core technology acts very much like a
series of independent shock absorbers. This design element
eliminated the need to rely on a softer and less durable product
to attain the necessary fall protection. The result was a
product offering extreme durability on the top surface,
coupled with exceptional safety performance; a leap which
solidified SofSURFACES position as the industry leader in
fall protection. Implementation of our hollow-core technology
laid the groundwork for yet another industry first.

2007

SofSURFACES introduced the industry’s first and only 10
Year Warranty covering durability and compliance with the
ASTM F1292 standard for impact attenuation of playground
surfaces. Being the first company to offer a 10 Year Warranty
went hand-in-hand with being the first company to develop
a tile system capable of performing at a level far exceeding
the minimum requirements of the F1292 standard. 

2011

After three years of intensive R&D, SofSURFACES
completed the development of a world class production
system. Our fully automated manufacturing facility relies
solely on HMI (human machine interface) technology, with
every single aspect of the process strictly controlled through
advanced computerized monitoring.  The resulting finished
product offers extreme precision and consistency.