Astro Turf - a potted history.
In 1965 three employees from the Monsanto Company (Famous for the "RoundUp" weedkiller brand jointly invented a product called "Chemgrass". The trio were Donald L. Elbert, James M Faria and Robert T. Wright.

It was patented in 1967 but under the name of Astro Turf because it was installed in the famous Houston Astrodome Stadium in 1996.

Rather than it being just another brand from the Monsanto stable it became a company it its own right and traded as AstroTurf Industries Inc in 1987; just a year later Balsam AG purchased the company and grew the company until 1994 when Southwest Recreational Industries Inc acquired the brand. It was two years later that American Sports Products Group Inc purchased it.

In 2005 Textile Management & Associates, owners of AstroLawn, and SYNLawn acquired the assets and intellectual property from American Sports Products Group and marketed the AstroTurf brand under the company Astro Turf LLC. AstroLawn, AstroTurf & SYNLawn are registered trademarks of Textile Management Associates Inc. (TMA) in the U.S. and other countries.