The International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA) is the voice of the public playground industry. Its goal is to advocate for its members and educate the public alike about the benefits of safer play, the positive implications of safer play on personal and collective development, and how IPEMA certification programs support those ends.

At upwards of 270 member companies strong, IPEMA is a true partner for its members and the broader industry. The organization represents the who’s who of playground equipment manufacturers, surfacing manufacturers and suppliers, and general members who have a vested stake in the industry.

Throughout its history, IPEMA and its partners have contributed to improving playground safety. More falls have been cushioned, safer materials have been developed, and more innovative and exciting playgrounds have been designed, all of which contribute to enriching community hubs where personal and social development take place.

Putting safety first
The International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA) was established in 1995 when a handful of playground equipment manufacturers came together to professionalize the playground and surfacing industry through certifiable quality and safety standards.

The organization’s certification program validates participating products that conform to ASTM standards, and by taking this unified approach to safety and quality in the manufacture and installation of playgrounds, it has created equipment and environments that allow children, families, and communities to develop to their fullest.

“What [ASTM] has done today is created a quality level that customers can rely on, so there are standards that playground equipment manufacturers and the owners of playground equipment should adhere to, and IPEMA certifies that the equipment that its membership is producing is compliant to those standards,” explains IPEMA President Brad Pittam.

Pittam further addressed the certification process: “That group gets together and starts the baseline conversation: what is play, what are play elements, what is an acceptable risk level, what is beyond an acceptable risk level? And then they set a safety standard to it. IPEMA then steps in once ASTM establishes a standard. Then we look at whether it makes sense to certify manufacturers to that standard or to a portion of that standard,” he explains.

Beyond this level of credibility and professionalism IPEMA promotes, it also offers members confidential sales reporting and data aggregation. Next year, the organization is slated to release its first Trends Report to offer insight into market performance and industry trends.

The benefits of play
While trends come and go, the benefits of safer play remain steadfast. From the physical, cognitive, and emotional aspects of development to the ability to process feelings and emotions, playgrounds facilitate individual and collective development, and the value of the interactions that take place on the playground are far reaching.

The playground is a community hub, a meeting place for friends that provides the backdrop for countless adventures of the body and mind, but it is also a place where children learn to be themselves and to interact with their peers, and it is a place where children and adults alike form bonds that will last a lifetime.

The physical benefits of play are the most obvious, as kids who are running, jumping, and climbing are honing their fine and gross motor skills, expending energy, and getting the exercise that their bodies need to grow stronger—but there is so much more to it.

Play is one of the best ways for children to process big emotions and the playground can be a safer place for them to do so. Whether supervised or unsupervised, playing independently or with peers, children build their self-confidence and self-esteem, and learn independence, creativity, judgment, consequences, risks, social norms, relationship building, and conflict resolution on the playground.

As Pittam notes, “A whole lot happens on playgrounds. If it’s well-designed, you’ve got a community hub, and what happens at that community hub is a benefit to many generations of people who experience it.”

Playgrounds are increasingly being designed with this intergenerationality in mind. While play is important for children, it is just as important for adults. It has been said that if you go back and think about what made you happy as a child, it is still likely to bring you joy today.

From Pittam’s perspective, “It sounds like such a basic thing but sometimes people forget to play and sometimes people forget why there is a benefit to playing, so we do spend a lot of time working on Voice of Play and making sure that our membership and their customers understand that there is a benefit to being a kid and goofing around on the playground.”

Voice of Play
Regardless of age, play is vital, and Voice of Play is one of the ways IPEMA communicates the benefits of play. The initiative was founded by past IPEMA President Tom Norquist, one of the original members of the organization, and takes an unbiased, scientific look at the benefits of play using proprietary research.

“Play shouldn’t always be seen as an extracurricular, optional activity, but rather an essential tool in a child’s development,” said Pittam, and Voice of Play provides education and insight into how play impacts the physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development of its participants.

As Pittam explains, “Voice of Play helps push why play is important. Occasionally we push why risky play is important, and I think if you can effectively create an environment where children feel they are being challenged but they are in a safer environment, there is a benefit to the risks and rewards they receive.”

For instance, knowing that falls are inevitable, with equipment and surfacing that is IPEMA certified, the risks of these falls can be mitigated and injuries can be avoided. And, despite the standards being robust, they haven’t stymied innovation when it comes to the manufacture of new and exciting play equipment. Playgrounds are actually getting taller and more exciting, but never at the expense of a child’s safety.

“If you look at how climbers are developed, even how some slides are developed, manufacturers are going wider, some are going taller, some are using natural embankments; our members have done a great job of finding ways to be compliant to the safety standards, providing a very unique aesthetic and a very unique play experience,” Pittam explains.

Innovating the future of play
A great deal of thought goes into the design and manufacture of play equipment and playgrounds. From the location of the playground to the project’s budget and theme, there is a lot to consider. Luckily, IPEMA manufacturers have countless out of the box and custom solutions and surfaces to bring any playground design to life.

From the colors used to the activities included, playground manufacturers are complicit in creating environments to inspire. Playgrounds might be in a child’s community, but to the child they can represent faraway lands and places in their minds.

“Research shows that kids around the world still fantasize about being a king or queen, they fantasize about being a pirate or explorer on a ship,” says Pittam. “When you get themes like that that are consistent around the world and have been for generations, it’s interesting to see how that translates to play, pushing kids to be creative with their minds and how they play.”

Today’s playgrounds are colorful, open-air classrooms that have integrated sounds, textures, and movement to become inclusive, safer, accessible, and welcoming spaces for all, including those with sensory processing disorders. Playground equipment manufacturers are working hard to ensure everyone has the chance to play.

There is no denying the value that playgrounds bring to individuals and communities and for Pittam, “communities are recognizing the value of play in terms of what that means as a social hub getting the heart of the community together. When you have that, it draws tourism and commerce and improves real estate values. Playgrounds tend to be getting larger with more customization, which becomes a challenge for our membership,” a task IPEMA and its members are more than ready to undertake.

Driven by innovation and rooted in safety, the future of play is bright thanks to IPEMA, its members, and the Voice of Play effort. By unleashing a child’s creativity and imagination through physical play in the safest playground environment, anything is possible.

The post Striving for Safer Play in Vibrant Communities<p class="company">The International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA)</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Of these goods, “I would say our mulch, boulders, and bulk products are kind of our bread and butter,” shares Andrea Feist, who co-owns the firm with her husband, Brian Feist.

The company’s services include custom stone fabrication, core drilling, and bagging. Rock Hard can cut steps from fieldstone boulders to create natural stone stairs, whereas core drilling involves drilling into boulders, often to create water features such as bubbler rocks. Bagging refers to placing rocks or mulch into bags so they can be easily transported.

Rock Hard can trace its origins to a lawn mowing business Brian Feist first established in middle school. The business was a hit, and he eventually expanded into landscaping. In 1998, two years after he graduated from high school, he founded Brian’s Lawn and Landscaping, Inc. The transition from lawn-cutting to landscaping was led by his fascination with machinery.

“When he was in sixth grade, he started with his first lawn mowing accounts,” recalls Andrea Feist. “So, he really just kept growing, from lawn mowing into landscaping. They go hand-in-hand, and your clients want both… He kept buying bigger machines to allow him to do more, and then he got into a lot of boulder work.”

Brian developed a specialty in which he set boulders and built walls for customers and contractors for whom he subcontracted. Eventually, he transitioned once again and began selling boulders, stones, and other items to contractors. In 2005, Brian founded Rock Hard Landscape Supply and focused on sales. As a supplier, he stopped doing any landscape work himself, and for good reason. “It’s a conflict of interest when contractors are your main customers. They don’t want you competing against them for work,” Andrea points out.

Rock Hard opened its first supply yard in 2008 in Jordan, Minnesota. The early days were a struggle. “The first couple of years as a hardscape supplier, that was hard because it takes a lot of capital to do that. You’re working to convince customers you’re the real deal… getting vendors to work with us was a challenge, getting people to trust you’re going to do a good job with them,” says Andrea.

Brian also suffered from unfortunate timing; the entire economy underwent a severe downturn in the years 2008 to 2009, which did not make life any easier for the young business. Through a combination of hard work, industry know-how, and constant reinvestment in the company, however, Rock Hard gradually expanded.

The company moved its headquarters to Burnsville, Minnesota in 2010, where it has remained ever since. That same year, Andrea made a career move of her own, giving up teaching (she has a degree in math education from the University of Wyoming) to concentrate on managing the company’s office work and raising their family.

In 2019, Rock Hard opened another supply yard in Farmington. Last year, a fourth location was added in Andover.

Rock Hard’s supply yards are vast, well-organized spaces filled with paving stones, natural stone, boulders, and other products of various shapes, sizes, and colors. It also carries outdoor fireplaces, fire pits, and fire tables which can be fuelled by wood, propane, or natural gas.

Landscape lighting, including pathway lights, spotlights, and other forms of illumination are available as well. Such lighting is designed to enhance the outdoor experience and boost safety by reducing the likelihood of tripping over something in the dark while also keeping burglars away. Rock Hard works with various firms to supply fire, light, and rock-related goods.

The company also grinds wood to make mulch, which is then either colored with non-toxic dyes or kept natural. This mulch can be used in gardens, alongside driveways, or in any spot a property owner sees fit. Rock Hard has worked on or provided materials for countless projects over the years, creating beautiful backyards, driveways, and patios featuring paving stones, stone walls, man-made waterfalls, and natural stone walkways with carved steps.

Rock Hard offers deliveries of its materials via its vehicle fleet which consists of dump trucks, semis, various trailers, and a boom truck with a grapple. The company’s larger dump trucks can haul up to 20 tons of material, while its specialty end dump trucks, used for moving boulders, can manage up to 22 tons. The smaller single axle trucks can handle mulch, dirt, and rock loads up to five tons. The boom truck is also used to move boulders, which are then put into place with the grapple. It delivers its wares throughout the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, and into neighboring Wisconsin and North Dakota.

Having multiple locations in Minnesota has been a boon to the company’s bottom line, as contractors throughout the state appreciate the convenience of having a nearby supply yard and will sometimes meet customers at these yards to pick out products, inspect goods, or select colors.

Of course, Rock Hard’s success is attributable to other factors as well. Competitive pricing and excellent products and services helped the company establish a reputation for quality and fair dealing. Brian Feist’s background was also instrumental in building the business. Having worked as a landscaper himself, he knew firsthand what products and services contractors needed and the nature of their work. He also understood landscape industry terminology and conditions.

“People respected Brian when he was installing,” and that respect continued after he became a supplier,” says General Manager, Kevin Becker.

Today, about 80 to 85 percent of the company’s revenue stems from wholesale business with installation contractors, while retail sales account for the remainder. Rock Hard works with a range of contractors, from individuals who do projects for private landowners to commercial contractors who handle larger works.

For all its rapid growth, Rock Hard has not forgotten the importance of the personal touch. “Brian is open to a phone call from any customer. That doesn’t happen really anywhere else, where you can call the owner and ask a question,” states Kevin.

The company’s upward momentum was not stopped by the COVID-19 virus, which reached pandemic proportions in March of 2020. While the firm was determined to keep its staff safe, the pandemic actually resulted in a surprise windfall. “Sales-wise, like all building supply centers, those were definitely boom years for us.”

Due to the pandemic, many businesses went into total or partial lockdown, and employees were often encouraged to work at home. Given that recreational and commercial venues were frequently closed as well, many at-home workers decided to renovate their properties. As a result, hardscape suppliers such as Rock Hard were kept busy during the worst of the virus.

At present, the company has 45 to 50 employees, although staffing levels fluctuate depending on the season. Naturally, it is busiest in warm weather months when landscapers and contractors are most active. Rock Hard used to do snow removal, but ended that service a few ago to focus on better preparing for the busy season and selling bulk and bagged salt and shovels during the winter.

Anyone looking for work here “doesn’t have to have a background in this, but they have to be personable,” says Kevin. A strong work ethic, customer focus, the ability to show up on time for each shift, and a “get-it-done” attitude are also prerequisites, he continues.

Moving forward, the company aims to expand its bagging business and is focused on strengthening its existing capabilities and ensuring that “processes and procedures are tightened up,” and further efficiencies are found, Kevin shares. In terms of new business, Rock Hard relies heavily on word of mouth and referrals from satisfied customers, and having a fleet of branded trucks also helps get the company’s name in front of the public.

The firm faces challenges like any other business, but the future looks promising, says Andrea. “We’ve worked our way up from the bottom of the totem pole of suppliers,” she says, noting that the company wants “to be the top landscape supplier in the market and stay there. We want to hold on to our quality and not compromise.”

“Being at the top of the food chain does bring its challenges too,” Kevin muses. “If you’re on top, then people are shooting for you, but that’s okay. I’d rather be up there than down below.”

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