Laminam, a global leader in producing natural surfaces for interior and exterior design applications, is rapidly growing in the North American market. The company is set to open five new state-of-the-art showrooms with adjoining distribution centers across key locations in North America. The expansion is part of the company’s plan to increase its presence in the retail market, to support the high demand from fabricators, kitchen and bath retailers and the A&D community, providing the highest quality of natural surfaces and quicker lead times. Laminam entered the North American market in 2011, with consistent market share growth year over year ever since.
Expansion Plans
Laminam is partnering with distributors, fabricators, kitchen & bath professionals, and design studios to enhance accessibility and convenience for interior and exterior applications in residential and commercial design projects. Laminam surfaces are currently distributed across the United States and Canada through a network of distributors, select fabricators and retailer showrooms.
Four of the five new showrooms and warehouses will be in Canada’s major cities — Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary — and in U.S., with the first distribution center strategically located in Houston. The aim is to support the growing demand in these key regions and to provide customers with a seamless experience when specifying their desired surface for their projects. The new locations are set to open between the end of summer to end of fall, varying from 16,000 to 40,000 square feet of showroom/warehouse facilities.
Innovation
Laminam is a pioneer when it comes to the surfaces industry. Its founding company, System Group, invented the revolutionary machinery system known as Lamina, which allowed large-format natural surfaces to be manufactured without the inner stresses found in other man-made slab technologies. For this reason, Laminam slabs can reach an impressive fabrication cutting speed of up to 8 feet per minute, ensuring exceptional durability with minimal breakage compared to other similar surfaces from different brands.
The sintered slab category, which includes Laminam, is experiencing remarkable growth in North America, with a staggering 25% increase year over year, driven by consumer demand for better alternatives to quartz and other stones.
Another circumstance boosting the growth is the fact that there are increasing health risks to fabricators associated with the potential inhalation of silica dust during the fabrication process, which is commonly found in large quantities on engineered quartz and some types of natural stone. Fabricators are starting to opt for materials that offer equal or better aesthetics with superior performance and providing better safety for the workers.
“With our product’s exceptional easiness to fabricate, which eliminates the need for relief cuts and offers faster cutting speeds compared to competitors, Laminam has become the preferred surface for many fabricators working with manufactured stone,” said Philip Eeles, president of Laminam for North America, UK and Ireland. “Our R&D team has developed over 120 colors and the largest variety of surface finishes in the industry, with an array of smooth, polished and textured effects. Each surface is carefully crafted to achieve a unique touch and feel experience, and maximizes the differentiation of our products to competitors.”
Laminam’s high-performing surfaces possess technical properties that ensure they are a safe and hygienic option for areas where cleanliness is a must, such as kitchens and bathrooms. Notably, the company achieved the prestigious Solid Surfacing for Food Zone certification from the American National Standard for Food Equipment (NSF), making it the world’s first surface approved for direct contact with food. The R&D team has also developed a bioactive treatment called Ambience that focuses on reducing pollutants and impurities that are deposited onto its treated surfaces, contributing to air purification and self-cleaning properties in exterior applications.
Sustainability
As an industry leader, the company’s investments in innovation and sustainability drive continued development. Laminam is fully committed to achieving circularity and safeguarding biodiversity through a range of sustainable practices. This includes transitioning away from traditional energy sources to renewable solar energy practices, reducing waste and promoting recovery. In 2022, the company solidified its commitment by obtaining the ISO 14064-1 for Carbon Footprint and ISO 20400 for Sustainable Procurement certifications.
“Homeowners are constantly looking for sustainable options when it comes to the material selection for their homes,” stated Eeles. “We’re so proud that Laminam slabs feature 20-60 percent pre-consumption recycled materials in our slabs, which can contribute to LEED certification.”
The company’s commitment to sustainable practices goes beyond the product. From employee welfare to responsible procurement, efficient manufacturing practices, waste control and reuse of packaging materials, Laminam is continuously investing to improve sustainable practices. More information is available in Laminam’s recently released Sustainability Report.
