Colour That Performs

On a specification line, "TPV" can mean two different materials. Most commodity granules sold as TPV are TPE-V, a thermoplastic blend in which rubber is held inside a polypropylene matrix. Rosehill TPV^® is a different chemistry: a single-phase, peroxide-cured thermoset elastomer with no polypropylene, whose colour is formed during manufacture rather than coated on. That stability is why it holds Greyscale 5 (no visible change) under EN 14836 accelerated UV ageing. Rosehill TPV^® is manufactured in Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire and is available in 21 standard colours.

Rosehill TPV^® is a high-performance coloured rubber granule used in wet-pour safety surfacing for playgrounds, outdoor gyms, and public spaces. It is designed to deliver long-lasting colour, durability, and consistent performance in outdoor environments.

Rosehill TPV^® is widely used in:

• Playgrounds
• Outdoor gyms
• Schools and nurseries
• Parks and recreational areas
• Pathways and communal spaces

Rosehill TPV^® is engineered to retain its flexibility and resilience, helping surfaces perform consistently over many years. It resists the gradual stiffening that can affect some rubber materials exposed to outdoor conditions.

Outdoor exposure to UV, heat, and oxygen can lead to oxidative ageing, which increases stiffness and reduces elasticity in some materials. This can affect how the surface performs over time.

All materials change to some degree with age. However, Rosehill TPV^® is designed to minimise changes in hardness, helping it remain softer and more flexible compared to traditional alternatives.

Both materials can deliver compliant safety surfacing at installation. The key difference is long-term behaviour.

A wet-pour EPDM granule is often only 15–25% actual rubber — the rest is fillers and oils — and its chemistry retains reactive sites that keep cross-linking under UV, so the surface gradually hardens. Because ageing starts at the surface, the top 2–3 mm can form a hard crust over a softer base, which is where spider cracking begins.

Rosehill TPV^® is a fully cured, single-phase rubber with no reactive sites left over, so it keeps its flexibility. And because colour runs deep through the granule, wear reveals more colour, not less: EPDM fades. Rosehill TPV^® deepens.

Rosehill TPV^® is designed to stay flexible, allowing it to accommodate movement in the sub-base or surrounding environment. This reduces the likelihood of cracking compared to more rigid or aged surfaces.

Rosehill TPV^® has excellent UV stability and is used successfully in regions with intense sunlight, including the Middle East, Asia, and South America.

In accelerated weathering to EN 14836, Rosehill TPV^® holds Greyscale 5 — no visible change — after 9,600 kJ of UVA exposure, while EPDM samples score 2 to 3. In the field, a 2023 installation at Iquique, on the edge of Chile's Atacama Desert — around 5,500 kJ of UV a year plus coastal salt — remains in full colour three years on.

Rosehill TPV^® is designed to retain its colour for longer. While all outdoor surfaces will experience some change over time, visible fading is minimised.

In warm or damp environments, any outdoor surface can develop surface biofilm if moisture and debris are present.

Because Rosehill TPV^® maintains a more stable surface over time, it can be less prone to visible build-up compared to more degraded or cracked surfaces.

Lifespan depends on usage, installation, and environment, but the difference in replacement budgets is stark: budget EPDM surfaces are commonly replaced within around 3 years, mid-range around 5, and premium European EPDM around 7. Documented Rosehill TPV^® installations are still performing — and still meeting EN 1177 impact requirements — after 17 years, including Sydney surfaces laid in 2009.

Tensile figures on many granule datasheets are measured on the rubber as a moulded sheet, before granulation. Granulating tears the rubber and creates dust and fines that soak up binder, so a sheet figure says little about the finished surface.

The number that matters is the tensile strength of the granule-and-binder composite, tested to EN 12230 — BS 7188 sets the minimum at 0.4 MPa. Rosehill TPV^® reaches 1.10 MPa at a 20% binder ratio and clears the minimum comfortably even at 15%. Specify the composite, not the granule.

Around 15%, where rough, porous EPDM granules typically need 20% — cut a quarter of the binder and you cut a quarter of the binder's embodied carbon, the highest-carbon ingredient in the surface.

Because Rosehill TPV^®'s colour runs deep and fully saturated through the granule, standard aromatic binder can be used without a visible colour shift; the aliphatic binder needed to protect pale EPDM costs around four times as much, carries roughly twice the carbon, and takes up to 72 hours to cure.

Yes. We provide support with:

• Specification guidance
• Colour selection
• Technical advice
• Project planning