Invented by two ambitious young men - Daniel J.O'Conor and Herbert A.Faber. Formica was founded in 1913 to produce plastic laminate items for electrical insulation. The first plant was opened in Cincinnati, Ohio. Early applications of Formica^® laminate were industrial - providing an excellent basic board (the motherboard we know today) for nonconducting parts, in some cases used in aircraft. 

Herbert A.Faber named the product ---- without a great deal of study ---- "Formica" (combining "for" and "mica"), because it would stand in for mica, a silicate mineral with a thin, sheet like arrangement of atoms that was used as the primary electrical insulator.


Formica /fɔːrˈmaɪ.kə/
Formica, has been recorded in The Oxford English Dictionary as a replacement for decorative laminates.

In its first century of existence, Formica Group has been privileged to march in parallel with changes in the wider world, the Formica^® trademark, from fairly obscure origins in mid-America grew to become a global brand. It was born in a period of economic turmoil and technological revolution not so very different from our own era.

Today, Formica Group has 13 international plants, 5 in Asia providing full and timely support for all Asian demands.