Our History

Our History
With over 100 years experience in laminate manufacture, we've got a colourful history...scroll through our timeline to discover the story of Formica, and how we got to where we are today.






















































2019
Formica Group was acquired by Broadview Holding, a Netherlands-based industrial holding with a significant presence in material technology and energy.
Broadview Holding also owns Trespa (the global leader in exterior HPL cladding), Arpa (well known for its innovative Fenix product line), and Westag (manufacturer of doors, elements and surfaces with a significant footprint in Germany). With the acquisition of Formica Group, Broadview and Formica Group strengthened their position as global leaders in surface materials.
1913
Daniel J. O'Conor, while working at Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company (Westinghouse), files a patent application for a process to make laminated insulators. O'Conor and Herbert A. Faber leave Westinghouse and, with Banker John G. Tomlin, join partnership as "Formica Products Company". The partners plan to produce commutator V-rings, in which laminate replaces mica. The company's first order was placed by Chaimers Motor Company.
1978
The U.S Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeks to cancel the Formica brand trademark, charging that the word 'Formica' has become a generic term. This action creates an uproar in the business community which views this as an attempt to eradicate the function of trademarks in the economy. Ultimately the FTC's action was dropped.
2019
Formica Group was acquired by Broadview Holding, a Netherlands-based industrial holding with a significant presence in material technology and energy.
Broadview Holding also owns Trespa (the global leader in exterior HPL cladding), Arpa (well known for its innovative Fenix product line), and Westag (manufacturer of doors, elements and surfaces with a significant footprint in Germany). With the acquisition of Formica Group, Broadview and Formica Group strengthened their position as global leaders in surface materials.
1913
Daniel J. O'Conor, while working at Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company (Westinghouse), files a patent application for a process to make laminated insulators. O'Conor and Herbert A. Faber leave Westinghouse and, with Banker John G. Tomlin, join partnership as "Formica Products Company". The partners plan to produce commutator V-rings, in which laminate replaces mica. The company's first order was placed by Chaimers Motor Company.
1978
The U.S Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeks to cancel the Formica brand trademark, charging that the word 'Formica' has become a generic term. This action creates an uproar in the business community which views this as an attempt to eradicate the function of trademarks in the economy. Ultimately the FTC's action was dropped.
2019
Formica Group was acquired by Broadview Holding, a Netherlands-based industrial holding with a significant presence in material technology and energy.
Broadview Holding also owns Trespa (the global leader in exterior HPL cladding), Arpa (well known for its innovative Fenix product line), and Westag (manufacturer of doors, elements and surfaces with a significant footprint in Germany). With the acquisition of Formica Group, Broadview and Formica Group strengthened their position as global leaders in surface materials.
Having been in business for so many years, we're lucky enough to have collated an archive of assets.

Brooks Stevens' Skylark pattern was launched in the 1950s


The 1965 World's Fair competition

A Formica 1927 sales meeting, image from the book 'Formica: Forty Years of Steady Vision' (1953).
It's great to take a look back on our history and see the teams that worked hard to further the Formica brand.
