Empire West, Inc.

Last updated
Empire West, Inc.
Formerly
Empire West Plastics, Inc.
Private
Industry Plastic Thermoforming
Founded Petaluma, California, U.S.
(1968 (1968))
Headquarters Graton, California 95444, U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsCeilume Ceiling Tiles
Safe-Guard PET-G Optics Packaging
Custom Industrial Thermoforming Applications
Website Empire West.com

Empire West, Inc., a small, local business with a worldwide reach, has been specializing in thermoforming plastic products since 1968 and is a privately held company located in Graton, California. The organization is also known as Empire West Plastics, Inc. and owns the brand names Ceilume Ceiling Tiles and Safe-Guard PET-G Optics Packaging.

Thermoforming drape

Thermoforming is a manufacturing process where a plastic sheet is heated to a pliable forming temperature, formed to a specific shape in a mold, and trimmed to create a usable product. The sheet, or "film" when referring to thinner gauges and certain material types, is heated in an oven to a high-enough temperature that permits it to be stretched into or onto a mold and cooled to a finished shape. Its simplified version is vacuum forming.

Plastic material of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids

Plastic is material consisting of any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic compounds that are malleable and so can be molded into solid objects.

Privately held company business company owned either by non-governmental organizations or by a relatively small number of shareholders or company members, and the companys capital stock is offered, owned and traded or exchanged privately

A privately held company, private company, or close corporation is a business company owned either by non-governmental organizations or by a relatively small number of shareholders or company members which does not offer or trade its company stock (shares) to the general public on the stock market exchanges, but rather the company's stock is offered, owned and traded or exchanged privately or over-the-counter. More ambiguous terms for a privately held company are closely held corporation, unquoted company, and unlisted company.

Contents

Company history

The original name, Empire West Plastics, Inc., was derived not from the Redwood Empire, but from New York state's moniker Empire State. [1] Originally founded in Petaluma, California in 1968, the company moved from to its present site in Graton, California in 1980. The name was changed to Empire West, Inc. in 1985.

Empire State appellation of New York state, United States

The U.S. state of New York has been known by many nicknames, most notably as the Empire State, adopted as late as the 19th century. This nickname has been incorporated into the names of several state buildings and events, and is commonly believed to refer to the state's wealth and resources. However, the origin of the term remains unclear.

California State of the United States of America

California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With 39.6 million residents, California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. The state capital is Sacramento. The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 9.7 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is California's most populous city, and the country's second most populous, after New York City. California also has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The City and County of San Francisco is both the country's second-most densely populated major city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs.

Graton, California census-designated place in California, United States

Graton is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in west Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,707 at the 2010 census. Graton's ZIP code is 95444. The town also has a culinary reputation attributed to two restaurants in the area.

The company initially offered handling trays for the photofinishing industry, custom industrial thermoformed housings and enclosures, and packaging for high value laser optics handling and storage. In 1992 the optical products were spun off under the brand name Safe-Guard PET-G Optics Packaging. Custom thermoforming is still available on a case-by-case basis.

Laser device which emits light via optical amplification

A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation". The first laser was built in 1960 by Theodore H. Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories, based on theoretical work by Charles Hard Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow.

Optics The branch of physics that studies light

Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light. Because light is an electromagnetic wave, other forms of electromagnetic radiation such as X-rays, microwaves, and radio waves exhibit similar properties.

Example of Evangeline ceiling tiles from Ceilume Evangeline-ceiling-tiles.jpg
Example of Evangeline ceiling tiles from Ceilume

Created in 2002, the product line Ceilume Ceiling Tiles offers thermoformed ceiling tiles which can be mounted directly to a ceiling surface or installed in a suspended ceiling grid system. The tiles are Class A Fire Rated, FDA compliant, and GREENGUARD Gold Certified. (Please see the Ceilume "Technical Info" web site for citations.)

Notable aspects of Empire West products

  • The first to receive GREENGUARD Gold Certification
  • The first to be approved for installation beneath fire sprinklers
  • The first to offer a fully recycled materials option

Certified training

Ceilume is one of the companies providing training through the Continuing Education Program offered by Architects Magazine in partnership with Hanley Wood University. The course “Ceil with Thermoformed Tiles and Panels: A New Vocabulary for Overhead Design” qualifies for 1 CEU (continuing education unit).

Awards and recognition

References

  1. ↑ Oral history of Robert F. Yonash, 1996
  2. ↑ From Ceilings To ‘Star Wars’ In Graton, retrieved May 16, 2017
  3. ↑ Manufacturing Awards 2013: Empire West forms decorative ceiling tiles into profits, retrieved May 18, 2017
  4. ↑ Trademarkia. "TRANSLUMINOUS Trademark Information" . Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  5. ↑ Investor Words. "Luminous Ceiling".
  6. ↑ 2007's Most Requested Products, retrieved November 26, 2016
  7. ↑ Winners Selected for the 2010 Bloom Awards, retrieved November 26, 2016
  8. ↑ Versatile Vinyl Ceiling Tiles Top Off Rooms with Style, retrieved November 26, 2016
  9. ↑ Awards 2013: Empire West forms decorative ceiling tiles into profits, retrieved November 26, 2016
  10. ↑ 2013 Most Requested Products, retrieved November 26, 2016
  11. ↑ 2014 Product Innovation Award, retrieved December 13, 2016
  12. ↑ 2014 Record Products, retrieved December 13, 2016
  13. ↑ 7 Sleek Selections for Ceiling and Acoustical Systems, retrieved December 13, 2016
  14. ↑ These Metallic Ceiling Tiles from Ceilume are Made with Plastic Scraps, retrieved February 5, 2017
  15. ↑ West Sonoma County’s Ceilume wins North Bay Maker Award, retrieved July 21, 2017

See also

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