Steven Feldman

“I’ve been to Temple!” someone told me recently. Acknowledging the astonished look on my face, she continued, “My husband and I once stopped at a rest area on our way from Dallas to Austin!”

I recently found myself in Temple, Tex., for much longer than a pit stop. Temple is home to Wilsonart, the highest of high-end laminate flooring. It’s typical small-town USA, but Wilsonart is big time in Temple—It’s them, a WalMart distribution center and something pharmaceutical related. And high school football. But spend half a day–and the better part of an evening—in Temple and you walk away better for the experience. You get an education — and meet some incredible people in the process.

Like Temple, Curt Thompson, president of Wilsonart’s flooring division, is not a household name. That’s by design. Wilsonart likes to go about its business and fly under the radar. In fact, last year, when Thompson was promoted from vice president of sales and marketing, nary a press release was sent out. As for the factory itself, let’s just say if I dared sneak a few photos, well, that I would have a better chance of living to my next birthday with compromising paparazzi pictures of Russell Crowe.

So what did I learn? I always knew Wilsonart was one of the few laminate flooring manufacturers using high-pressure laminate technology. Competitors have referred to this manufacturing process as antiquated and costly. If that is true, then antiquated + costly = high quality. At least in Wilsonart’s case.

According to Thompson, it starts with the base construction. He explained how HPL offers superior impact and indentation resistance to other products on the market today. Then he noted how Wilsonart’s proprietary technology in its plate process results in superior resistance to scuff, scratch and mar. Finally, he demonstrated what he called Wilsonart’s unsurpassed standard of quality control.

The end result is incredible clarity of design. While there would be no pictures, I was given a sneak preview of what’s in store for 2007 in terms of new introductions. Let’s just say there’s a reason why Wilsonart’s average price per square foot is the highest in the category. Its Red Label collection, at an industry-high $5.99 to $7.99 a square foot, product only, is truly the crème de la crème. It’s certainly worth the price of admission to check out at Surfaces. Would love to tell you more, but I’m under a gag order under penalty of no more dinners in Temple.

A week removed from my trip to Temple, I now understand what Thompson means about Wilsonart’s “relentless commitment to making the best product for the consumer.”