Presentation of Arborite

Arborite’s story begins in the laboratories of Howard Smith Paper Mills Ltd. in 1942. After years of research, the Cornwall, Ontario company announced that it had developed a brand new decorative product that used pulp resin. This new product was easy to maintain, durable and moreover, attractive. Three short years later, the first commercial decorative melamine laminate was pressed in Canada.

In January 1948, The Arborite Company Ltd. was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Howard Smith Paper Mills Ltd. In September, a new Arborite manufacturing facility was officially opened in Lasalle, Québec.

Arborite’s products and technology quickly gained world renown. In 1953, the company licensed its process to Polyrey, a French plastic laminate manufacturer and division of Aussedat Ray. In 1962, the Arborite Company opened a plastic laminate company in the United Kingdom.

After the purchase of Howard Smith Paper Mills Ltd. by Domtar Inc. in 1963, Arborite® became a division of Domtar Construction Materials (and would remain so for the following quarter century). A second North American plant was opened in Vaughan, Ontario in 1971, and the following year its U.K. plant was sold to concentrate on the North American market. In 1976, production started at a new Domtar plant in Huntsville, Ontario. Capitalizing on the new thermally fused decorative panel technology, the plant produced panels sold under the Cladboard® brand name. In 1985, Domtar purchased the assets of Excelite in Norcross, Georgia, and folded the company into its Arborite division.

In 1988, change was in the air. Forbo International, a Swiss company with a high-pressure laminate manufacturer of its own, Resopal Gmbh, was in the market for a North American HPL operation to add to its portfolio. On December 31st, Forbo acquired the Domtar Construction Materials’ Arborite division. Nine years later, however, Arborite’s ownership would reside stateside, with the acquisition of Forbo’s high-pressure laminate divisions by Premark International. In 1997, Arborite became an integral part of the world’s largest manufacturer of high-pressure laminate. Within a year, ITW (Illinois Tool Works, Inc.) merged with Premark International, which took on the ITW name. ITW remains to this day Arborite’s parent company.

Over 60 years, Arborite has built a solid reputation for quality and reliability. For many its name is synonymous with high-pressure laminate. The HPL pioneer, Arborite remains as valuable an asset for its parent company as it has been for its customers!