Overview
Fundermax
Fundermax is a manufacturer of high-pressure laminate (HPL) panels, also called compact laminates or phenolic panels, for exterior, interior and laboratory use. The company is headquartered in St. Veit an der Glan, Austria, and is part of Constantia Industries AG, which is described as one of the largest industrial companies in Austria. Fundermax North America Inc. is a subsidiary based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Warehouses are located on the East and West Coasts of the United States and in Canada, and showrooms are located across the United States.
The company works with wood-based materials and compact laminates, and it processes renewable raw materials. Its manufacturing waste and by-products are used to produce electricity and district heating beyond the company’s own requirements. The group has five plants in Austria, about 1,400 employees, ten global offices and seven product lines. The product lines include Max Compact Exterior, Max Compact Interior, Max Compact Interior Plus, Max Resistance2 and Individualdécor panels for interior and exterior use.
The exterior range comprises architectural panels, digitally printed panels, noncombustible panels and natural panels. Exterior applications include rainscreen facades, soffits, sunshades and louvers, balconies, flooring and outdoor furniture. The interior range covers wall lining, washroom partitions, lockers and furniture, and the laboratory range covers horizontal and vertical lab surfaces, fume hood liners, shelving and casework.
Max Compact Exterior is the exterior HPL panel in the library. The North American product page gives standard panel sizes of up to 161 3/8 inches by 73 inches (4100 by 1854 mm), depending on the finish. The NT finish is made in thicknesses from 1/4 to 1/2 inch (6 to 13 mm), and the NH anti-slip finish from 1/4 to 13/16 inch (6 to 20 mm). The product carries EPD, HPD, FSC, PEFC and Greenguard certificates and Intertek CCRR Report 0527. The production facilities meet ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and EN 16001. Authentic Exterior Panels belong to the exterior architectural panel offering listed on the same page.
The markets named for the exterior panels are education, retail, healthcare, hospitality, multifamily residential, commercial office, transportation, sports facilities, and culture and community projects. The North American operation offers a sample program and continuing education courses accredited by AIA and IDCEC.
Relevant manufacturer history
The company traces its origin to 1890, when Karl Funder invested in his first sawmill in the Austrian lumber industry. In 1943 Funder founded the first wood fiberboard plant in St. Veit an der Glan. In 1948 the company began making thin HPL sheets, mainly for furniture and kitchen surfaces.
In the 1960s customers began requesting HPL about 3 mm thick for train and tram renovations, and Fundermax started selling it for impact-resistant wall cladding and ceilings. In 1978 the company supplied HPL wall cladding and ceiling panels for the Vienna underground stations.
Fundermax entered the exterior market in the 1990s with panels for ventilated facades. Around 1997 it developed double-curing technology for exterior panels, and around 2000 it produced the first exterior phenolic panel using its patented NT chemical curing technology. Around 2007 the first exterior Individualdécor project, a custom-printed panel, was manufactured. Branches opened in France, India and Spain between 2006 and 2012, and Fundermax North America launched in 2015 with its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina.
