What Panel Processing, Inc does

Panel Processing, Inc. is a 100% employee-owned (ESOP) custom composite wood and panel fabricator founded in 1971 by R.M. "Bob" Granum and headquartered in Alpena, Michigan. The company operates six manufacturing facilities across four U.S. states (Michigan, Alabama, Oregon, and Virginia) and self-identifies as the largest panel fabricator in North America, producing a broad portfolio that includes slatwall, pegboard, markerboard, chalkboard, shiplap, Eco-Finish digital print media, custom wood panels, thermally fused laminate (TFL), high pressure laminate (HPL), melamine decorative papers, and plastic components. Its underlying technology stack combines CNC machining, CNC-controlled pegboard punching, curtain and roll coating, screen and digital printing, TFL press lines (including a Wemhöner system at Klamath Falls), edgebanding, laminating, and assembly.

The company's commercial model is built on made-to-order custom manufacturing sold through a direct sales force of 13 named account and project managers, an inside sales/customer service function, and a network of 40+ stocking distributors that resell standard products such as slatwall. Revenue is generated primarily through custom fabrication contracts with manufacturers, retailers, designers, and builders across twelve or more end-markets including retail, furniture manufacturing, cabinetry and casework, healthcare, hospitality, office and education, kitchen and bath, cannabis dispensaries, storage and home organization, financial institutions, toy and game, and flooring. Pricing is quote-based for custom work, with published per-unit pricing only on stock sample boards ranging from $3.70 to $6.50 per board.

The business has been built through organic growth combined with five strategic acquisitions between 1975 and 2016 (Jacksonville TX hardboard plant, Alabama Inter-Forest Corp. in 2004, AFCO Industries in 2005, Modular Wood System in 2012, and Down River LLC in 2016), expanding the company from a single Michigan plant into a national four-state operation. The 100% ESOP structure, completed in 2004, aligns employee incentives with operational performance, while proprietary brand assets (Eco-Finish, Crater Lake Collection, Signature TFL Collection, Wilderness Collection, Farmhouse Collection) and FSC Chain of Custody certification differentiate the offering in a fragmented market. The company holds preferred supplier relationships with major HPL manufacturers (Wilsonart, Formica, Panolam, Arborite, Decotone) and is a member of the Composite Panel Association.

Name

Panel Processing, Inc

Legal name

Panel Processing, Inc.

Website

https://panel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Panel Processing, Inc. is a 100% employee-owned custom composite wood and panel fabricator serving retail, furniture, cabinetry, and 10+ other verticals from six U.S. manufacturing facilities in Michigan, Alabama, Oregon, and Virginia, selling direct and through 40+ stocking distributors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Composite Wood Panel Manufacturing

NAICS

Veneer, Plywood, and Engineered Wood Product Manufacturing (3212), Reconstituted Wood Product Manufacturing (321219), Veneer, Plywood, and Engineered Wood Product Manufacturing (32121), Hardwood Veneer and Plywood Manufacturing (321211), Laminated Plastics Plate, Sheet (except Packaging), and Shape Manufacturing (326130)

SIC

Millwood, Veneer, Plywood, & Structural Wood Members (2430), Wholesale-Lumber, Plywood, Millwork & Wood Panels (5031)

akta.pro primary industry

Hardwood Plywood & Decorative Panels Manufacturing (IMAMACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Decor & Laminating Paper Manufacturing (Furniture, Flooring, Impregnated Papers) (IMAMAEAE), Engineered Wood Underlayment & Subfloor Panels (IMAMACAK)

Keywords

• Composite wood panels
• Custom panel fabrication
• Slatwall manufacturing
• Pegboard panels
• Laminated panel products

Headquarters

HQ city

Alpena

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Wood Panel Manufacturing: Fabrication and sale of custom flat panels and components to manufacturers, retailers, designers, and builders. Products include raw board, laminated board, painted board, coated board, and custom fabricated components. Every order is custom made to customer specifications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Panel Processing, Inc. is a custom flat panel fabricator that manufactures composite wood panels and components from substrates including MDF, HDF, particleboard, and plywood. The company produces slatwall, pegboard, markerboard, chalkboard, shiplap, thermally fused laminate (TFL), high pressure laminate (HPL), melamine panels, and custom-fabricated wood and plastic components for retail, furniture, cabinetry, flooring, and other industrial customers. Every order is custom-made to customer specifications, with value-added services including CNC machining, cut-to-size, painting, coating, laminating, edgebanding, screen printing, and full assembly/pack-out.

Product overview

Panel Processing, Inc. is a flat panel fabricating company that manufactures and distributes composite wood panels and components. The product portfolio includes core panel products (Slatwall, Pegboard, Markerboard, Chalkboard, Mega Peg, Shiplap, Eco-Finish Digital Print Media, Custom Wood Panels) and laminated panel solutions (High Pressure Laminate, Melamine Paper/Foils, Thermally Fused Laminate). Additionally, the company produces wood and plastic components including Cabinetry Components, Furniture Components, Fixture and Display Components, Toy and Game Components, Sample Boards, Sample Board Displays, Plastic Components, Sneeze and Cough Guards, and Pegboard Skinz. All products are manufactured in the United States at six facilities across Michigan, Alabama, Oregon, and Virginia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Slatwall Panels Custom slatwall panels with horizontal or vertical orientation and grooves for retail display accessories, available in MDF, particleboard, and laminated finishes.
• Pegboard Panels Pegboard panels for retail displays, gondola backing, and storage solutions, available in various thicknesses with standard and custom hole patterns.
• Markerboard Panels Dry erase markerboard panels for business and educational settings in standard white and custom colors with various substrate options.
• Chalkboard Panels Chalkboard panels for educational settings, toy and game products, signage, and commercial applications, available in painted, liquid chalk, and laminated melamine options.
• Mega Peg Panels Specialty pegboard product featuring 1-inch round holes for modern retail display concepts, compatible with pegs, shelves, and wall cube systems.
• Shiplap Panels MDF planks prefinished with melamine paper in woodgrain and industrial designs featuring tongue-and-groove installation for interior accent walls.
• Eco-Finish Digital Print Media Proprietary water-based coating for high-quality digital and screen printing on rigid board substrates up to 5 feet wide and 8 feet long.
• Custom Wood Panels Custom-fabricated wood panels in various thicknesses from 3.2mm to 1.5 inches that can be punched, cut, painted, coated, laminated, edgebanded, and machined.
• High Pressure Laminate (HPL) Panels Decorative surface laminates designed for high-traffic applications, available in chemical-resistant and fire-rated grades from preferred suppliers.
• Melamine Decorative Paper and Foils Economical overlay for vertical surfaces in cabinets, store fixtures, shelving, and RTA furniture, available in thousands of colors and patterns.
• Thermally Fused Laminate (TFL) Panels Thermally fused laminate panels produced at the Klamath Falls facility, available in over 40 standard designs with four texture options (Stipple, Matte, Caldera, Cleetwood).
• Cabinetry Components Manufactured wood casework components including drawer parts, cabinet boxes, shelving, and ready-to-assemble cabinets for kitchen, bath, hospitality, and commercial applications.
• Furniture Components Standard and specialty furniture components, pack-outs, and ready-to-assemble units including wall beds, desks, tables, shelves, and drawer parts.
• Fixture and Display Components Custom retail display components and fixtures including pegboard backs, solid panels, headers, bases, cash wraps, and point-of-purchase displays.
• Toy and Game Components Wood components for the toy and game industry including game boards, lap boards, easels, score boards, and wood parts for toy furniture.
• Sample Boards Sample boards for displaying carpet, tile, wood flooring, and shingles in retail environments, available in stock sizes with painted, laminated, or unfinished options.
• Sample Board Displays Custom sample board display stands in various designs, sizes, and configurations for displaying flooring, tile, and other merchandising samples.
• Plastic Components Custom plastic components manufactured using CAD/CAM and CIM technology in materials including PVC, HDPE, Styrene, ABS, Acrylic, Acetal, Polycarbonate, and UHMW.
• Sneeze and Cough Guards Clear acrylic barrier panels for retail, grocery, restaurant, bank, and office environments, available in freestanding countertop and affixed bolt-on configurations.
• Pegboard Skinz Perforated paper overlays for updating the appearance of existing pegboard retail displays quickly and cost-effectively.

Quantifiable outcome

• Strategically located facilities enable just-in-time shipments and low shipping costs for national customer base

Named customers6 records

Segments12 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and preferred supplier.

• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFSC certification demonstrates commitment to responsible forestry and sustainable wood sourcing. Company maintains FSC Certificate as downloadable resource, indicating Chain of Custody certification for tracking wood from responsibly managed forests.
• Wilsonartpreferred supplierOthersPreferred supplier of High Pressure Laminate (HPL) materials. Wilsonart is one of several preferred HPL suppliers providing decorative surface materials for lamination services.
• Formicapreferred supplierOthersPreferred supplier of High Pressure Laminate (HPL) materials. Formica is a leading HPL manufacturer providing thousands of designs and colors.
• Panolam Pionitepreferred supplierOthersPreferred supplier of High Pressure Laminate materials for lamination services.
• Panolam Nevamarpreferred supplierOthersPreferred supplier of High Pressure Laminate materials for lamination services.
• Arboritepreferred supplierOthersPreferred supplier of High Pressure Laminate materials for lamination services.
• Decotonepreferred supplierOthersPreferred supplier of High Pressure Laminate materials for lamination services.
• Composite Panel Association (CPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of Composite Panel Association, the leading trade association for the composite panel industry. Provides industry advocacy, standards development, and market development support.
• WemhönercoreTechnology or IntegrationManufacturer of the thermal fused laminate production line used at the Klamath Falls, Oregon facility. Wemhöner is a leading manufacturer of press systems for the wood panel industry.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Stevens Industries: Stevens is one of North America's largest TFL/HPL laminated panel producers with vertical integration into furniture, cabinetry, and casework components — directly competing with PPI in laminated panel manufacturing and component supply.
• VT Industries: VT Industries produces thermally fused laminate panels, post-formed countertops, and component solutions for cabinetry, healthcare, and educational markets, overlapping with PPI's TFL, HPL, and custom panel fabrication offering.
• Sierra Pine: Sierra Pine (formerly SierraPine) is a US-based MDF and particleboard panel manufacturer supplying composite substrates comparable to those PPI fabricates into finished products.
• Decorative Panels International (DPI): DPI manufactures laminated panels and engineered wood components for cabinetry, store fixtures, and furniture — the same customer verticals PPI serves with TFL, HPL, and component fabrication.

Broad incumbents

• Panolam Industries: Panolam is a major TFL/HPL substrate and decorative surface manufacturer and a supplier-partner to PPI; it competes indirectly through downstream integration into laminated panels and commercial casework components.
• Flakeboard / Uniboard: Uniboard produces MDF, particleboard, and TFL panels for North American markets, supplying the same composite substrates Panel Processing fabricates and competing with its TFL offering.
• Wilsonart: Wilsonart is a major HPL/TFL decorative surface producer and a preferred material supplier to PPI; as a vertically integrated surface company it is a relevant adjacent/incumbent peer in laminated panels.
• Formica Group: Formica is a leading HPL laminate manufacturer and a preferred PPI supplier; its massive global substrate business makes it a broader-incumbent peer in decorative laminated surfaces.

Others

• Composite Panel Association members: The Composite Panel Association is the industry trade body PPI belongs to; its broader membership (including Arauco North America, Boise Cascade, and other substrate producers) constitutes the competitive ecosystem for fabricated panels.

Regional players

• Timber Products Company: Timber Products manufactures plywood, particleboard, and specialty panels with finishing capabilities in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West regions, partially overlapping with PPI's Pacific and Mountain coverage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/PanelProcessing
• Facebookfacebook.com/panel-processing-inc-120905084626147
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/594440
• Instagraminstagram.com/panelprocessing

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Panel Processing, Inc