Author Archives: Kathy

SolidSurface.com Celebrates 10 Solid Years!

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SolidSurface.com Warehouse in Tucson, AZ

SolidSurface.com Warehouse in Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ–SurfaceNet LLC d/b/a SolidSurface.com is proud to announce its 10th year as the leading Internet source for purchasing decorative solid surface sheet materials, tools, accessories and custom Corian® vanity tops.  Where it was once thought that no one would buy a sheet of solid surface material off the Internet, SolidSurface.com has achieved a decade of success and over 20% year-over-year growth.  While featuring popular solid surface brands such as DuPont™ Corian®, LG HI-MACS®, Aristech™ Avonite®, Samsung™ Staron®, Formica®, Wilsonart®, Hanwha™ Hanex®, and Meganite®, SolidSurface.com has also built its reputation on strong customer service and ease of searching, ordering and shipping.

The Launch

SolidSurface.com Display Booth

SolidSurface.com Display Booth

Using countertop remnants lying around in the garage, co-founders, Ed and Kyle Carpenter, a father and son team, began, as a hobby, creating one-of-a-kind applications with solid surface.  One such item was a  guitar body in the style of a Fender Telecaster and another a sculpture portraying  the loss of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11.  They also began fashioning pieces into cutting boards and selling them on eBay.  After realizing they could work smarter, not harder, by selling remnant pieces, they launched SolidSurfaceSurplus.com.  In early 2007, they formed the parent company SurfaceNet LLC and, in May of 2007, acquired the URL “SolidSurface.com.”  They then started working directly with manufacturers and distributors to source overstock and premium grade material, continuing to build out their various product lines. Continue reading →

Fabricator Spotlight: ASST – Fabricating Unique Destinations with Thermoformed Corian® Solid Surface

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Featured Project: Terminal F, Philadelphia International Airport

By Andrew Dreves, ASID

Philadelphia International Airport, Terminal F

Philadelphia International Airport, Terminal F

With airport security and travel being about as much fun as a root canal, airport terminals today are striving to become unique destinations people want to visit.  With a reputation for creating visionary environments, Daroff Design, based in Philadelphia had an adventurous solid surface thermoforming project at Philadelphia Airport’s Terminal F and they knew who could help.

ASST had worked with Daroff Design previously on the Baltimore Convention Center and the design firm is well known internationally for high-end public and signature hospitality environments.

ASST (pronounced ASSIST), since its founding in 1998, has become an industry leader in commercial architectural fabrications establishing a reputation for taking on project challenges other solid surface fabricators might avoid.

Schultz Form

With a passion for excellence and an impressive portfolio of successfully completed projects both nationally and internationally, ASST’s in-depth portfolio ranges from curved Corian® benches for the White House Visitor’s Center in Washington DC to an enormous curved solid surface Krion® staircase for a corporate building atrium in Boston. Continue reading →

Customer Spotlight: Gloede Builders & Design

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Gloede Builders & Design

Gloede Builders & Design

The path of a true professional

Dan Gloede discovered where his interests and talents lay at a very early age, when he was exposed to a high school shop class in woodworking.  Recognizing immediately that this was something he wanted to pursue, he began his own woodworking projects in his parents’ garage.  In no time, he was making quality furniture for his parents’ home and for others in the community.

After high school, he continued his interest in carpentry by working in various construction jobs, and eventually started his own business, TAD Millworks Company.  The focus of this company was on home construction, remodeling projects and, on a smaller scale, custom cabinetry.

Gloede Builders Kitchen Remodel With Solid Surface

Gloede Builders Kitchen Remodel With Solid Surface

By 2001, he was ready to transition his business away from commercial and residential construction into more specialized cabinetry and woodworking projects, and this was when he started Gloede Builders & Design, formerly TAD Millworks Company, alongside his wife, Teresa Gloede.  This business was more suited to his personal talents because it allowed him the freedom to design and Continue reading →

SolidSurface.com Recognized as Top 300 E-Commerce Company

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SolidSurface.com Top 300 B2B E-Commerce Site

SolidSurface.com Top 300 B2B E-Commerce Site

Tucson, AZ—SolidSurface.com–the online source where you can purchase virtually any brand, color or size of solid surface decorative surfacing material–has been named by Internet Retailer and B2BeCommerceWorld.com as one of the top300 B2B (Business to Business) e-commerce companies for 2017 for the second consecutive year. They have impressively been ranked 39th in the Hardware/Home Improvement Industry. Additionally significant, Internet Retailer magazine has also recognized SolidSurface.com as a Top 1000 general e-commerce website, not just B2B, for the past four years.

B2B E-Commerce companies in the Hardware/Home Improvement category are expected to grow by 28%, to more than $13 billion, up from $10 billion last year, mainly due to the continued strength of the housing Continue reading →

Avonite® Solid Surfaces Manufacturer, Aristech Surfaces®, Invests Over $11 Million in Quality Improvements and Product Innovation

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Avonite Manufacturing Plant

Avonite Manufacturing Plant (Image courtesy of Aristech Surfaces)

Over a span of three years, Aristech Surfaces®, creator of the Avonite® solid surface brand, will solidify (pun intended!) their commitment to invest in the future of solid surface.  In keeping with their quest for continuous improvement in quality and innovation, Aristech has just recently upgraded one of its continuous casting machines with a stainless steel belt, a $4.5 Million project, at its Florence, Kentucky plant.

One of Avonite's four continuous casting machines

One of Avonite’s four continuous casting machines. (Image courtesy of Aristech Surfaces®)


While that may seem like a high price to pay to replace a belt, the machines are more than 100 yards long and over nine feet wide.  It is one the world’s largest continuous cast machines for acrylics.  There are 10 of these machines in the world, only five are located in the western hemisphere and Aristech owns four of them.

The continuous cast machines allow Aristech to produce an abundant supply of acrylic solid surface and offers flexibility in sheet size, reducing waste, while saving customers material Continue reading →