This study analyzes the US market for decorative laminates. Historical data are provided for 1996, 2001 and 2006, with forecasts provided for 2011 and 2016. Demand is presented for US sales of decorative laminates by type (low-basis weight paper, saturated paper, vinyl films, decorative foils, high-pressure laminates and edgebanding) and by market (cabinets, countertops, flooring furniture, store fixtures, wall panels and other markets). Demand is presented in millions of square feet and millions of US dollars at the manufacturers’ level. The entire study is framed within the overall industry’s economic and market environment. Electrical, electronic and other industrial laminates are not included within the scope of this study because they do not perform any decorative functions.

INTRODUCTION x

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

II. MARKET ENVIRONMENT 4
General 4
Macroeconomic Environment 4
Demographic Trends 8
Population 9
Households 11
Consumer Spending Environment 12
Building Construction Outlook 14
Residential Building Construction 17
Housing Completions 19
Housing Stock 23
Improvements & Repairs 25
Nonresidential Building Construction 26
Office & Commercial Construction 29
Institutional Construction 30
Industrial Construction 30
Transportation & Other Building Construction 31
Improvements & Repairs 32
Competitive Materials 33
Countertops 34
Cabinets & Furniture 36
Store Fixtures 36
Wall Panels 37
Flooring 37
Pricing 38
Environmental & Other Considerations 40
Foreign Trade 43
World Market 44
Western Europe 45
Asia/Pacific 46
Other Regions 47

III. RAW MATERIALS & PROCESSES 48
General 48
Raw Materials 49
Plastics 50
Phenolics 52
Polyvinyl Chloride 53
Melamine 54
Other Plastics 55
Adhesives 56
Waterborne 58
Hot Melts 59
Solvent-Based 60
Paper, Vinyl Film & Other Materials 60
Wood Substrates 62
Particleboard 63
Medium-Density Fiberboard 64
Other Substrates 65
Decorative Laminate Manufacturing Processes 67
High-Pressure Processes 68
Low-Pressure Processes 69
Continuous Processes 70
Direct Lamination Processes 70
Types of Laminates 71

IV. PRODUCTS 73
General 73
Low-Pressure Laminates 76
Low-Basis Weight Papers 79
Product Characteristics 80
Markets & Suppliers 82
Saturated Papers 83
Product Characteristics 84
Markets & Suppliers 86
Vinyl Films 88
Product Characteristics 89
Markets & Suppliers 91
Decorative Foils 91
Product Characteristics 93
Markets & Suppliers 95
High-Pressure Laminates 95
Product Characteristics 97
Markets & Suppliers 101
Edgebanding 103
Product Characteristics 105
Markets & Suppliers 108

V. MARKETS 109
General 109
Cabinets 113
Cabinet Industry Outlook 114
Laminate Demand 115
Demand by Type 117
Low-Pressure Laminates 118
High-Pressure Laminates 120
Edgebanding 120
Demand by End Use & Application 121
Furniture 124
Furniture Industry Outlook 124
Laminate Demand 126
Demand by Type 129
Demand by End Use 132
Residential 133
Nonresidential 135
Store Fixtures 137
Retail Sales Outlook 137
Laminate Demand 140
Demand by Type 142
Low-Pressure Laminates 142
High-Pressure Laminates & Edgebanding 143
Flooring 144
Flooring Outlook 145
Laminate Demand 147
Demand by Type 150
Demand by End Use & Customer 151
Wall Panels 154
Wall Panels Industry Outlook 155
Laminate Demand 157
Demand by Type 159
Demand by End Use 160
Countertops 163
Kitchen & Bathroom Outlook 163
Laminate Demand 164
Demand by Type 166
High-Pressure Laminates 167
Low-Pressure Laminates 167
Edgebanding 168
Demand by End Use & Application 168
Other Markets 172
Demand by End Use 173
Demand by Type 176

VI. INDUSTRY STRUCTURE 178
General 178
Industry Composition 179
Market Share 184
Wilsonart 185
Panolam Industries 185
Formica 186
Coveright Surfaces 186
Others 187
Competitive Strategies 187
Research & Development 190
Distribution 192
Marketing 193
Acquisitions & Divestitures 196
Cooperative Agreements 199
Company Profiles 202
American Hardwoods Incorporated, see Patrick Industries
Armstrong World Industries Incorporated 203
BauschLinnemann GmbH & Company KG, see SURTECO
Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated 205
Canplast Incorporated, see SURTECO
CFC International Incorporated, see Illinois Tool Works
Columbia Forest Products 206
Coveright Surfaces Holding GmbH 209
Cytec Industries Incorporated 212
Dai Nippon Printing Company Limited 213
Doellken-Woodtape Incorporated, see SURTECO
Dynea North America Incorporated 215
Dynea Oy 216
Edgemold Products, see Fiberesin Industries
Fiberesin Industries Incorporated 217
Flakeboard Company Limited 219
Flexible Materials Incorporated 221
Formica Corporation 223
Funder America Incorporated 226
Georgia-Pacific Corporation, see Koch Industries
Hexion Specialty Chemicals Incorporated 227
Illinois Tool Works Incorporated 228
Kleerdex Company LLC, see Sekisui Chemical
Koch Industries Incorporated 233
Lamin-Art Incorporated 236
Mannington Mills Incorporated 237
MeadWestvaco Corporation 239
Mohawk Industries Incorporated 241
Nevamar Company LLC, see Panolam Industries
OMNOVA Solutions Incorporated 244
Panolam Industries International Incorporated 246
Patrick Industries Incorporated 251
Pergo AB 253
Pfleiderer AG 255
PrimeWood Incorporated, see Woodcraft Industries
Quick-Step Incorporated, see Mohawk Industries
Riken Technos Corporation 258
Rodman Industries, see Fiberesin Industries
Roseburg Forest Products Company 259
Royal DSM NV 263
Sekisui Chemical Company Limited 264
Sequana Capital 265
Shaw Industries Incorporated, see Berkshire Hathaway
SierraPine Limited 266
Spartech Corporation 268
Stevens Industries Incorporated 270
SURTECO AG 271
Tarkett Holding GmbH 275
Timber Products Company 277
Toppan Printing Company Limited 279
Uniboard Canada Incorporated, see Pfleiderer AG
Unilin Holding NV, see Mohawk Industries
Wilsonart International Incorporated,
see Illinois Tool Works
Woodcraft Industries Incorporated 280

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE NUMBER PAGE

SECTION I -- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Summary Table 3

SECTION II -- MARKET ENVIRONMENT
1 Macroeconomic Environment 8
2 Demographic Trends 9
3 Personal Income & Expenditures 14
4 Building Construction Expenditures 17
5 Residential Building Construction Expenditures 19
6 Housing Indicators 23
7 Residential Improvement & Repair Activity 26
8 Nonresidential Construction Expenditures 29
9 Nonresidential Improvements & Repairs 33
10 Decorative Laminates Pricing Trends 40

SECTION III -- RAW MATERIALS & PROCESSES
1 Materials Demand in Decorative Laminates 49
2 Plastics Demand in Decorative Laminates 52
3 Adhesives Demand in Decorative Laminates 58
4 Paper, Vinyl Film & Other Material Demand in Decorative Laminates 61
5 Wood Demand in Decorative Laminates 63

SECTION IV -- PRODUCTS
1 Decorative Laminates Demand by Type 75
2 Low-Pressure Laminates Demand by Type 78
3 Low-Basis Weight (LBW) Paper Laminates Demand 80
4 Saturated Paper Laminates Demand 84
5 Vinyl Film Laminates Demand 89
6 Decorative Foil Laminates Demand 92
7 High-Pressure (HP) Laminates Demand 97
8 Edgebanding Demand 105

SECTION V -- MARKETS
1 Decorative Laminates Demand by Market 112
2 Cabinet Supply & Demand 115
3 Cabinets Market for Decorative Laminates 117
4 Cabinets Market for Decorative Laminates by Type 118
5 Cabinet Market for Decorative Laminates by End Use & Application 123
6 Furniture Shipments 126
7 Furniture Market for Decorative Laminates 129
8 Furniture Market for Decorative Laminates by Type 132
9 Furniture Market for Decorative Laminates by End Use 133
10 Retail Sales 139
11 Store Fixtures Market for Decorative Laminates 142
12 Store Fixtures Market for Decorative Laminates by Type 144
13 Flooring Supply & Demand 147
14 Flooring Market for Decorative Laminates 150
15 Flooring Market for Decorative Laminates by Type 151
16 Flooring Market for Decorative Laminates by End Use & Customer 154
17 Wall Panels Supply & Demand 157
18 Wall Panels Market for Decorative Laminates 159
19 Wall Panels Market for Decorative Laminates by Type 160
20 Wall Panels Market for Decorative Laminates By End Use 162
21 Selected Kitchen & Bath Indicators 164
22 Countertops Market for Decorative Laminates 166
23 Countertops Market for Decorative Laminates by Type 167
24 Countertops Market for Decorative Laminates
by End Use & Application 172
25 Other Markets for Decorative Laminates 175
26 Other Markets for Decorative Laminates by Type 177

SECTION VI -- INDUSTRY STRUCTURE
1 Decorative Laminates Sales by Company, 2006 183
2 Selected Acquisitions & Divestitures 197
3 Selected Cooperative Agreements 201

LIST OF CHARTS

CHART NUMBER PAGE

SECTION II -- MARKET ENVIRONMENT
1 Year of Construction of Housing Stock, 2006 25

SECTION IV -- PRODUCTS
1 Decorative Laminates Demand by Type, 2006 75
2 Low-Pressure Laminates Demand by Type, 2006 78

SECTION V -- MARKETS
1 Decorative Laminates Demand by Market, 2006 113

SECTION VI -- INDUSTRY STRUCTURE
1 Decorative Laminates Market Share, 2006 184