Thanks to innovation and acquisition, Panolam Surface Systems® offers the largest selection of integrated surface products. With more than 80 years’ experience, the company continues to grow and adapt to the evolving needs of the market. Senior Director of Marketing & Design Patricia Rongitsch, Senior Director of Environmental & Safety Jeff O’Hearn, and Creative Director Debbie Stach explained more, in an exclusive interview. Report by Imogen Ward.
Having been in the business for more than 80 years, Panolam Surface Systems has a rich history within the integrated surface sector. Originally based in Canada, the company developed its brand Panolam® in the 1990s to promote particleboard and Thermally Fused Laminate (TFL). After moving the corporate office to the U.S. in 1999, Panolam purchased Pioneer Plastics which specialized in High Pressure Laminate (HPL) under the brand Pionite ® at its Auburn, ME facility, and its Conolite ® aircraft laminate at its Morristown, TN site.
Creative Director Debbie Stach further explained: “The business expanded once more in 2006 with the purchase of Nevamar ®, which, at the time, was a competitor of ours in HPL. The following year, we installed a new Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) production line at our facility in Tennessee.” In 2015, Panolam consolidated its Nevamar and Pionite HPL products into the Maine facility.
Panolam’s distributor partners play a crucial role in reaching its target audience and ensuring the success of its products These partners function as an extension of Panolam's sales force, bringing valuable
expertise and connections to diverse customer segments.
Distributors possess deep-rooted relationships with architects, designers, and fabricators – the key decision-makers in specifying HPL for various projects. This local market knowledge helps Panolam navigate regional trends and preferences, ensuring its product offering aligns with specific demands. Distributors are brand ambassadors, actively promoting Panolam's integrated surface solutions to their networks. They possess product knowledge and can effectively showcase the unique benefits and applications of Panolam's offerings, influencing buying decisions at the ground level.
Importantly, distributors also provide crucial logistical support. They stock inventory, allowing for faster deliveries and reduced lead times, which is vital in fast-paced construction projects. Additionally, they manage order processing, invoicing, and even offer value-added services like cutting and edge-banding, streamlining the buying process for Panolam's customers.
Sustainable surfaces
One important factor always considered at Panolam Surface Systems is sustainability. Since 2009, the company has been FSC certified, and it partners with paper suppliers who carry the same accreditation.
“We also ensure that our wood suppliers for our particle board production line are included in our FSC certification program,” Senior Director of Environmental & Safety Jeff O’Hearn said.
With many of its products being wood based, Panolam Surface Systems is proud to be saving wood fiber from being burned or landfilled. Currently, its TFL consists of 80-90% wood fiber, and its HPL is manufactured with up to 60%. These products also come with a life expectancy of 30 to 40 years.
“All our wood fiber to produce particleboard for our TFL process comes from secondary sources; we do not chop down any trees for the process,” Mr. O’Hearn explained. “This includes waste material from lumber mills and sawmills and
a portion of post-consumer material. We also recycle our cooling water so we don’t rely on a continuous supply of fresh water, and we have transitioned our facilities over to natural gas to help reduce our carbon impact.”
The wood dust generated from the company’s TFL process is also combusted for energy, to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.
“Additionally, our HPL plant has invested in a new air compressor system,” Mr. O’Hearn continued. “This has reduced our energy usage significantly.”
Digital integration
Dedicated to reducing its carbon footprint even further, Panolam Surface Systems has spent the last year and
a half developing a new digitally integrated Decorative Surfaces Guide.
This system is designed to be an easy access alternative to wallboards and sample binders, reducing the need for unnecessary paper usage. As an additional bonus, the system also saves customers time and space, whilst also improving the sustainability of sample selection.
“The Decorative Surfaces Guide has been a huge undertaking for us,” Director of Marketing & Design Patricia Rongitsch explained. “We had noticed that many clients were shrinking their physical footprint, and a large wallboard was no longer practical for them.
Sustainability was also a huge deciding factor: we had countless binders filled with sample chips that were just sitting around, and it felt unnecessary.
“Of course, we still offer our physical chips to those that request them, but we really wanted to create this digital binder to provide our customers with a choice.”
The Decorative Surfaces Guide features all the company’s integrated surfaces, allowing designers to narrow down their choices digitally before requesting a much smaller range of samples. This has been available since Summer 2023 and has been extremely popular.
Expanding its offering
As Panolam Surface Systems is heading through what is set to be another successful year, the company is doing so with several new product launches. Designed to bring people closer to nature, the company’s Walk in the Woods collection features eleven
new laminates (eight wood grains and three solid colors) which promote indigenous wood.
“The Walk in the Woods collection launched in November 2023 and was designed to spotlight not only indigenous species but also how laminate is made” said Ms. Rongitsch. “So, it tells a story about our raw materials.
“The paper that we use for our solids is sourced from the famous Arches Paper Mill in France. It is exceptional for its unique properties that allow pigments to
penetrate the cellulose fiber in an absolute wash of color. This color saturation is due in part to Arches’ ancient artisanal processes and the unique water properties of the spring-fed brook that runs through the mills land.
Another recent addition is the company’s new fingerprint resistant finish called Modern Matte. Currently taking the industry by storm, this type of finish has been incredibly popular; but Panolam Surface Systems’ stands out from the crowd in a unique way.
“Unlike other fingerprint resistant finishes on the market, which are typically only available in solid colors, our new product can be purchased with any pattern – woodgrain or solid – and in HPL and TFL,” Ms. Stach explained. “We are the first company in the U.S. to do this.”
The company has also been working closely with Material Bank (a US-based company that offers a wide selection of free material samples), which currently features Nevamar and Pionite samples.
“What we have found since collaborating with this company is that the number of overall requests has increased, but the number of sample requests has decreased, which has been a really positive outcome,” said Ms. Rongitsch. “Designers order samples with specific intent.”
Designers are creating design boards online and ordering samples that get shipped together, resulting in a saving of energy and fuel. These samples can also be returned to the company for reuse.
“This is just one of the ways that we are making a difference in 2024,” Ms. Rongitsch concluded. “To be able to help our end users in a positive way is incredibly important. There is a wonderful team working here at Panolam Surface Systems that is passionate and motivated to help make our customers’ visions a reality.” n
