The Mondo Group, founded in 1948, has found success laying track and flooring for Olympic stadiums for several decades

When people hear the word “Olympics,” they probably think of the summer or winter games and the dedication and dreams of the athletes who train and compete. A few favorite Olympic athletes might come to mind, or maybe Gloria Estefan’s “If I Could Reach,” written in honor of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, pops into heads. Very few people probably even consider the track or the grass where those Olympic athletes perform.

The Mondo Group does think about the flooring of Olympic stadiums, however. That’s because since 1976, the company has laid tracks and specialized rubber flooring for several of the Olympic stadiums, including Atlanta, Moscow in 1980, Barcelona in 1992 and Athens in 2004. It will install the track and flooring in the Olympic stadium in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

In addition to providing track for the Olympics, Mondo also has been the official supplier of track for the past nine Outdoor Athletics Championships as well as the Indoor Athletics Championships, and the IAAF Grand Prix, World Championships and European Championships.

“To date, over 220 world records have been broken on Mondo tracks,” the company says. Mondo Group has provided more than 1,000 non-Olympic tracks and performs its own installation work, as well.

Federico Stroppiana, president of Mondo’s North and South American operations, says laying track and flooring for the Olympics is never a sure thing, but always a long process. Mondo submits a bid to the Olympic Committee, which is different for every Olympics, and the committee chooses suppliers and sponsors for the games.

“It’s more complicated because there are no set rules,” Stroppiana says. “So, we have to persuade the committee to bring us in as a supplier. Of course, quality and performance of the product are paramount, particularly in such a high-visibility venue like the Olympic Stadium.”

He notes the company is never sure whether it will win the Olympic contract, and it was the same case when Mondo bid the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

The company recently had opened a factory in Beijing, which Stroppiana believes helped it attain the job. “Every host country is going to try to favor low-cost suppliers,” he says. “That makes it more difficult to become selected.

“With the [2000] Australian Olympics, it was easier because there was less competition. But with China, it was more complicated, and dealing with [a different culture] was challenging.”

The company has factories and subsidiaries all over the globe, including the company’s headquarters in Alba, Italy; Zaragoza, Spain; Foetz, Luxembourg; Epinay Sur Seine, France; Nykoping, Sweden; Seattle; Chicago; Dallas; Philadelphia; and Beijing.

Stroppiana says Russia, Korea and Greece selected Mondo for its Olympic Games because “the company is known as the undisputed world leader in the sports rubber flooring sector.”

Different Characteristics
“There are big opportunities in China for us,” Stroppiana says. “The Olympics provide great visibility, but it doesn’t make for long-term revenue.

“We see China as an opportunity for market development.”

Stroppiana says Mondo’s flooring is much different from its competitors’. “Our rubber flooring is unique,” he says. “The materials we use and the way we make it are different. The most important raw material is rubber. However, different types are used depending on which characteristics the product has to have. The bulk of the rubber we use is natural – it comes from trees and is considered a sustainable raw material. We also use pigments, clay and other raw materials, some of which are natural and organic.”

Mondo is known for its tracks, Stroppiana says. “Running tracks need certain characteristics and [need to] meet certain requirements to allow athletes to perform their best. The balance between shock absorption and optimal energy return is crucial to provide a surface which is as fast as it can be and yet safe for the athlete to use. It is fairly complicated even though it sounds simple.”

A Mondo track has a life expectancy of 20 years, he says.

“A Mondo track that was installed in 1977 at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada, is still being used today,” he adds.

In addition, he says, “Not only do we create all our products from A to Z, we also make the machinery to produce these products. While most products we make are rubber, their performance can vary dramatically.

“For example, products with different textures provide different performance characteristics and are better for different applications. In a gymnasium or multipurpose area where a variety of sports, such as basketball, tennis or volleyball, will be played, a smooth or less-textured surface is better. For outdoor tracks, an embossed texture is better.”

About Mondo
Mondo was founded in 1948 by Stroppiana’s grandfather, Edmondo Stroppiana, and his father and uncle, Elio and Ferruccio, who today are the chairman and CEO, respectively. The company takes its name from Edmondo’s nickname, “Mondo.”

The company has an international headquarters is in Alba, Italy. It sells products in 134 countries and has more than 1,400 employees.

It has three divisions: balls and toys, sport and commercial flooring, and luxury yachts.

The company’s first product was handballs, a popular sport in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy where the company was started.

These were often hand-delivered by Ferruccio on his bicycle, while Elio took care of business at the manufacturing end. The balls were first made in the basement oven of their house, one at a time.

By 1950, Mondo had become a full-fledged company, complementing its range of balls –which had expanded into balls for other sports – with its first floorings for commercial and sport applications.

Stroppiana says the major difference between the company and its competitors is its products are high-end performance products. “We put a big effort into R&D,” he says. “Other companies in the business don’t do as much.”

For example, the company created Mondoturf six years ago. Stroppiana says the company wanted a different product for the market.

“That was our opportunity to do something big [for markets in other countries],” he says. “A few years ago, turf was non-existent in Europe. Soccer was always played on natural grass. Now, there is a movement to change.

“People have been more interested in turf because it’s always green, you can play on it longer and it’s less expensive to maintain,” he says. “Today, the search is on for products that are similar to natural grass.”

To date, Mondo has installed about 700 Mondoturf fields in Europe. Stroppiana estimates this number will increase to in between 900 and 1,000 in the next year or two.

Making Green Tracks
Stroppiana says the biggest trend in the market today is the use of sustainable products to go green in North America and Europe. “To be green is a big challenge,” Stroppiana explains. “I think in the long run, however, the ease of access to information will make it easier for people to be aware of the veracity of companies’ claims.”

Stroppiana would like Mondo to expand its product line to include a mid-range line of products, he notes, which would give it a bigger presence in the market.