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“HPL can compete successfully with any other material out there,” Schaefer told me, “and it can also connect other materials in a setting. It’s not just ‘laminate’; it’s the ideal material for creating spaces.

“The only way for us to survive is to increase the applications for our products. As new materials like foils and TFM have entered the market, most suppliers put their energy into trying to grab bigger slices of a finite pie, beating each other up in the process. We should be focusing on finding new uses and creating a larger market for all materials. We need to innovate, think differently and forget everything we think we know about how our products should be used.”

Part of this process is refining the way Resopal communicates with architects and designers, and helping its fabricator customers do the same.

“This is something our entire entire industry should be part of because for designers, price is not the number one priority. If we can create pull-through demand for products made with laminates, fabricators have better opportunities for more profitable projects. In most cases, our materials are more affordable, more consistent and more durable than the other material systems they normally specify. We just have to do more to inspire them to use it in more applications.”

To encourage use of laminates in new places and new ways, Resopal has made some significant investments, starting with a new waterproof substrate adapted from the auto industry. Symalite is glass-fiber reinforced polypropylene not unlike the soundproofing material you find on the undersides of cars. As it happens, Symalite is also waterproof. By sandwiching it between two layers of HPL, Resopal creates a 100 percent waterproof, very rigid product that’s an ideal solution for flooring – and walls – in wet room applications. Resopal calls it SpaStyling, and has developed a single tongue-and-groove profile that makes it easy to install as a floor; it also mounts on walls without any visible fastening system.

Another plus is, it’s quite a bit lighter than similar products with wood-based panel substrates. Schaefer says Volkswagen has already specified SpaStyling flooring for hundreds of its dealer showrooms. The product won a “Best of the Best” award at Interzum because it addresses a significant challenge for laminated components in wet areas – their susceptibility to moisture.

Tight radii and curves present another barrier for HPL use. Enter FlexformPlus - 0.8 mm Resopal laminate bonded to a fibrous leather substrate, which is in turn bonded to a slotted panel. The leather material compensates for stresses, prevents the slots from “telegraphing” through the laminate, and ensures stability and bending, even when extremely small radii are involved.