This year, Formica Canada is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its only manufacturing plant in Canada, located in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec.
St. Regis Paper built the plant in 1951, and postwar growth in residential and commercial construction, combined with rising demand for modern decorative surfaces, helped it become what it is today.
When American Cyanamid acquired it in 1960, the plant expanded its capabilities with new manufacturing processes, a wider range of textures for both residential and commercial markets, and entry into the US export market.
The company became Formica Canada in 1985, a time when the interior design boom was well underway, and laminates were finding their way into kitchens, bathrooms, commercial furniture, and institutional spaces across the continent.
The plant is 370,000 square feet, with 120 million square feet of annual production capacity, and over 200 employees. The plant also anchors the company’s Canadian distribution network, with more than 2,300 finished products and eight million square feet of laminates on hand to serve customers across the country and supply the company’s main distribution centre in Indianapolis for the US market.
The plant produces Formica Compact products, anti-static floor tiles for server rooms, and other specialized lines.
When Broadview Materials acquired the Formica Group in 2019, the plant’s role expanded further, adding manufacturing and distribution of products from FENIX, Trespa Toplab, Homapal, and Arpa to its portfolio.
Multi-generational families are well represented in the Formica Canada plant’s workforce, a continuity that has contributed to a strong workplace culture and sense of shared purpose.
Beyond the plant gates, managers and employees are involved in a range of social, sporting, environmental, and community initiatives, often with the support of plant leadership.
Formica Canada continues to focus on increasing productivity and reducing the environmental footprint of its operations and products. The company has made investments totaling more than $10 million over the past three years, including a major expansion project, the addition of fully automated equipment, and the implementation of several sustainability initiatives. New technologies, automation, and artificial intelligence are already part of that effort.
“For 75 years, the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu plant has been at the heart of Formica’s history in Canada and North America. Its strength has always been its people — employees who have kept the plant moving forward through every decade and built something the whole group looks to today,” said Christelle Locat-Rainville, marketing director, Formica Canada, and commercial leader, sustainability.
