Masonite International

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Masonite International Corporation (NYSE: DOOR) is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of interior and exterior doors for the new construction and repair, renovation and remodeling sectors of the residential and non-residential building construction markets. Founded in 1925 in Laurel, Mississippi, It currently serves approximately 8,500 customers in 60 countries and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.[1]

History[edit]

1924—1940: Invention of Masonite[edit]

In 1924, William H. Mason, engineer, inventor and apprentice of Thomas A. Edison, developed an innovative method for turning vast amounts of waste wood into useful products. By applying heat, steam and pressure to wood fiber, Mason created a type of hardboard known as Masonite that has since become an enduring material in the building products industry.[citation needed]

Mason received funding from lumber companies in Wisconsin and Laurel, Mississippi to establish the Mason Fibre Company in 1925, which would later adopt the Masonite Corporation name. In late 1925, construction was started on the company's first plant in Laurel to produce insulation board and Mason’s newly-created hardboard.[citation needed] Mason;s board was created by accident.[2]

Masonite soon licensed facilities in Australia, Canada, Italy and Sweden to ramp up hardboard production. As the company grew, Mason increased the products’ performance and strength, and he was awarded numerous patents connected with Masonite.[3] Mason continued to innovate until his death in 1940, and his legacy of innovation remains an important part of the company’s framework today.

1940—1970: Wartime contributions and wide-scale use[edit]

During World War II, Masonite’s hardboard became an important substitute for metals. The Army and Navy depended on the product to develop Quonset huts for soldier housing throughout the European and Pacific war theatres. For these efforts, Masonite Corporation earned three Army-Navy Production Awards.[citation needed]  

After the war, Masonite looked to broaden the use of its hardboard. The product was used to create shipping containers, toys, artwork, furniture and more. Designers Charles and Ray Eames used Masonite hardboard in their popular line of postwar modernist furniture, including pieces designed for Herman Miller, Inc.[4]

The Masonite Innovation Center (formerly known as the John M. Coates Technical Center) was built in 1960. Its sole purpose was, and continues to be, the development of new products and process innovations.[5]

1970—2001: Foray into doors[edit]

Masonite entered the door business in 1972, when it began producing wood-composite molded door facings and other components. After a number of acquisitions, the company became part of International Paper in 1988.[6][7]

As Masonite’s door division steadily grew, the company formed an alliance with Premdor, a Toronto-based door supplier. By the 1990s, Masonite had become Premdor's largest supplier. With a desire for vertical integration and an eye on global expansion, Premdor reached an agreement to purchase Masonite from International Paper in September 2000. One year later, regulatory approval was granted, and the deal was completed.[8]

2002—2013: Origins of modern masonite[edit]

Premdor officially changed its name to Masonite on January 1, 2002 and adopted the tagline of “The Beautiful Door.”[9] The acquisition and strategic rebranding efforts were anticipated to help reduce raw materials and marketing costs while increasing customer demand for the company’s products worldwide.

In 2005, Masonite was acquired by KKR in a leveraged buy-out. Four years later, in response to an unprecedented downturn in the global housing market, Masonite filed for bankruptcy protection afforded by Chapter 11 statutes in the U.S. and the CCAA in Canada as part of a pre-arranged plan to restructure the company. Masonite emerged from a pre-arranged bankruptcy filing 85 days later, in June 2009.[citation needed]

In 2013, Masonite filed a registration statement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol DOOR, to once again become a public company.[10]

2014 — Present: global expansion and innovation[edit]

Nearly a decade later, Masonite has grown into a global company with operations in eight countries serving customers across 64 countries. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, Masonite employs more than 10,000 people worldwide, and is the only door manufacturer to serve both the residential and architectural markets.[citation needed]

Today, many of Masonite’s interior and exterior doors are conceptualized at the Masonite Innovation Center (MIC) located in West Chicago, Illinois. The MIC, which is home to a number of innovative testing and research labs, is the largest known private research and development center in the world focused on door technology. The facility’s goal is to give Masonite an industry edge by developing environmentally friendly door solutions that help reduce energy consumption by providing insulating properties, ensure the safety and security of buildings through fire and storms and contribute to third-party sustainable building certifications.[11]

In December 2023, Masonite International planned an acquisition of PGT Innovations, a manufacturer and supplier of windows and doors, for $3 billion. [12] However in January 2024 this agreement was terminated. [13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "About Us". Masonite Corporate. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  2. ^ [“The Masonite Process,” Industrial and Engineering Chemistry (Vol. 22, May 1930, pp. 493-7), 494. For more history of the Masonite process and company, see: John Hebron Moore, “William H. Mason, Southern Industrialist,” The Journal of Southern History (Vol. XXVII, No. 2, May 1961, pp. 169-83); John M. Coates, “Masonite Corporation: The First Fifty Years 1925/1975,” Corporate History published by the Masonite Corporation, 1975, in the LRMA Archives; Frank. C. Lesniak, “Masonite; Takes a Tree Apart Fiber by Fiber and Puts it Back Together in a More Usable Form,” reprinted from Baldwin-Southwark (4th qtr., 1939, pp. 1-10) in the LRMA Archives; and “Insulation Board Manufactured from Sawmill Waste,” reprinted American Lumberman (June 19, 1926), in the LRMA Archives]
  3. ^ Moore, John (1961). "The Journal of Southern History". JSTOR. 27 (2): 169–183. doi:10.2307/2205276. JSTOR 2205276.
  4. ^ "Masonite and American Art of the 20th Century" (PDF). Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
  5. ^ "2014 Masonite Exterior Door Catalog". Issuu. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  6. ^ Wiggins, Phillip H. (1984-03-27). "Gypsum to Acquire Masonite". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  7. ^ Sly, Liz (October 1988). "International Paper to Buy Masonite for $400 Million". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  8. ^ "Premdor buys IP unit - Oct. 2, 2000". CNN Money. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  9. ^ "Premdor changes name to Masonite". Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  10. ^ "Masonite plans $150 million IPO". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  11. ^ "Inside Masonite's innovation center, a door opens". Crain's Chicago Business. 2017-07-27. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  12. ^ "One of Sarasota County's largest employers targeted for acquisition by Tampa-based company". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
  13. ^ "Masonite Confirms Termination of Agreement to Acquire PGT Innovations". masonite.com. Retrieved 2024-02-09.

External links[edit]

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