Local News

Ribbon Cutting for La Porte Manufacturer

(La Porte, IN) - A manufacturer providing the finished wood grain look on cabinets and wall panels has opened in La Porte.

 

On Tuesday, a ribbon-cutting was held at Gravure Ink, occupying 60,000 square feet inside a privately constructed spec building at the Thomas Rose Industrial Park.

        

The company is owned by Patrick Industries, a maker and distributor of components and building products for the recreational vehicle, marine, and manufactured housing industries. Patrick Industries employs about 12,000 people at more than 170 sites in the United States, Canada, and China.

 

Gravure Ink has 31 employees working the day shift. Operations Manager Hugo Gonzalez said the hope is to run two or three shifts at some point if demand for their products keeps rising.

 

“We’re excited about continuing to grow the business here,” Gonzalez said.

Gravure Ink produces a laminate on thin paper containing various designs, including the grain on trees such as maple, hickory, cherry, and oak.

 

Gonzalez said the printed designs on the paper are then shipped to plants operated by Patrick Industries to be glued on plywood and particleboard panels used in products like cabinetry.

 

He said the finished product is used in making RVs, manufactured homes, and boats, while the rest is delivered to stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s for people to purchase for things like home remodeling projects.

 

“The laminate is the coating that goes into the panel.  We give it color. Usually, it’s going to be wood grain. We’ll make those designs,” Gonzalez said.

 

Gonzalez said laminates on vinyl are made at the Patrick Industries facility in Bensenville, Illinois.

 

The other half of the spec building constructed by the Qualls family is being used for storage by American Renolit Corporation, a production facility in La Porte.

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