Often described as plastic countertop, this is not true. It is true that 33-percent of the countertop is composed of binding resins, but the other 66-percent is minerals (a bauxite derivative, along with aluminum trihydrate, a fine white powder that helps the material maintain its smooth consistency). With this guide, learn about major manufacturers of solid surface countertops that have been around for years, even decades—half a century old in the case of Corian. Avonite, part of a large, established family that produces all manner of surfaces, offers either polyester (Studio Collection) or acrylic (Foundations) solid surfaces. Both can be finished to matte, satin, and high-polished (glossy) sheens.
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Avonite is a favorite of professional kitchen designers. Avonite 100 percent acrylic Foundations’ “Right Size Capability” program works with contractors and designers to produce massive sheets up to 204-inches long, reducing seams to next-to-nothing and eliminating trim waste. Avonite, too, excels at providing vertical-ready solid surfaces for wet areas such as showers and wet walls, both residential and commercial. Like Corian, Avonite is another U.S.-made product, coming from factories in New Mexico and Kentucky. The point of chemist Dr. Donald Slocum’s invention was a surface that is solid through and through. Laminate is composed of layers; the solid surface is homogenous, which means that it can never de-laminate.
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Corian provides a wealth of information and support for its product. Unlike other solid surface companies, which rely on designers to clue in consumers, Corian is very transparent about its product, from start to finish. Corian will never be the cheapest solid surface on the market, but the selection is copious. Corian is made in the U.S. at its Buffalo, New York plant. When Corian’s patent ran out, Samsung was one of many solid surface companies to rush in and begin duplicating DuPont’s successful Corian formula. Only as the Staron brand matured did Samsung attempt to branch away from that initial Corian-but-cheaper formula and try new things. Staron is now owned by Lotte Chemical USA, the U.S.-based division of Seoul-based Lotte Chemical. Lotte acquired Staron from Samsung in 2016.
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Because of Staron Tempest. The Tempest collection is especially striking, with its sparkly metallics combined with true depth and translucency. Tempest is a solid surface that has the three-dimensional quality of quartz countertop surfaces or even real stone. A Top En-counter, a Huntington Beach, California-based designer, concurs, saying that Staron’s Tempest “has blown away the others in competing in the new arena of engineered quartz products…Tempest looks like engineered stone but applies all of the most important elements in solid surfacing, which are integral sinks, inconspicuous seams and the ability to repair, refurbish and resurface.” Solid surface is not Swan’s main line of business, but it has been doing it for a long time: since 1987. Many consumers look to Swanstone as a less expensive alternative to Corian or Avonite. One benefit of Swan’s diversified product lines is that they are a good source of solid surface integrated sink countertops, especially bathroom vanity tops. Swanstone stands up well against high heat. It is rated to withstand heat up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. This means that the countertop will not singe or melt when you place a hot pot or tea kettle of boiling water on it.
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Swanstone solid surfaces are often less expensive than those offered by other companies. If you’re a U.S. customer and prefer to purchase U.S.-made products to reduce the carbon footprint of shipping overseas, all Swan products are made in the United States in Centralia, Illinois. Even though most efforts go toward the laminates, solid surfaces remain a tidy side business for Formica Corporation. The former Formica Solid Surfacing division, now called Everform Solid Surface, offers 38 colors of its unique seamless, non-porous material. Nearly 30 of Everform Solid Surface’s colors and styles are manufactured at U.S. plants, with the remainder being made in China.
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Formica is transitioning its solid surfaces from polyester to 100-percent acrylic. Lately, some exciting products have come out, such as Bottle Glass Quartz, Bleached Concrete, Argento Terrazzo Matrix, and Tumbled Glass. Offerings like these make solid surfaces look less homogeneous and more like real stone. The company had a brief bump in the road when it introduced solid surface veneer (SSV), a 1/8-inch slice of material that fabricators were expected to glue to a particle-board base. When that didn’t work, Wilsonart pre-bonded the SSV to the board and fixed a polymer sheet to the bottom to protect it from moisture. SSV was a failure, resulting in cracked counters and a 2004 class-action lawsuit that brought in a $23 million settlement to plaintiffs.
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SSV issue aside, Wilsonart is known for being attentive to customers. Currently, Wilsonart has dozens of dedicated showrooms in the United States and Canada. Historically, too, Wilsonart has been innovative. While most of its creativity is still going in the direction of laminate surfaces, Wilsonart’s solid surfaces division is still a strong contender, producing a wide variety of stone and woodgrain-inspired materials for the kitchen and bath. Wilsonart offers wide format solid surface materials. On most projects that require countertops wider than the industry standard of 30 inches, two sheets of solid surface are bonded together. While skilled installers can make invisible or nearly invisible seams, what could be better than having a single piece of solid surface that fits the required dimensions? Wilsonart offers Wide Sheet Solid Surface to avoid the added time and expense of bonding sheets. Hanex offers four collections that represent a wide range of colors and styles: Cascade, Venato, Stratum, and Bellassimo:
Cascade: Delicated veined with minimal color contrastVenato: Richly veined to resemble Calacatta marbleStratum: Deep earthen colorsBellassimo: Patterned grays and browns “inspired by the beauty of the night sky and twilight”
