Highway Access Makes Blue Ridge Road Ready
Published Mar 23, 2009
The region is within a day's drive of 75 percent of the U.S. population.
Time has always been of the essence for Wilsonart International, founded more than 50 years ago with the promise to deliver laminates “anywhere in the United States in 10 days or less.”
These days the nation’s largest manufacturer of decorative laminates faces even tighter deadlines to reach customers who use its products for countertops, desktops, floorings and, in some cases, walls.
“There is such a tight window of time,” says Tim Gwennap, manager of Wilsonart’s manufacturing and distributing plant in Fletcher, about 12 miles south of Asheville. “We like to control our own destiny.”
The region’s easy access to the interstate system, says Gwennap, counters assumptions that the area is isolated. More than 40 motor freight carriers serve the region, which is within a day’s drive of 75 percent of the U.S. market.
Wilsonart’s Fletcher plant is 10 minutes from Interstate 40 and Interstate 26, which gives it easy access to other interstate highways, including I-95, the lifeline of the East Coast.
“We are tucked up right in the corner of the state near the mountains, but we have access to a lot of areas,” Gwennap says. “We have two interstates within 10 minutes of our door that we can use to tie into the main north-south and east-west corridors very easily.”
For an operation that distributes from Mexico to Canada, the access is vital, says Gwennap, who joined the company three decades ago when the Fletcher plant opened.
“The access is huge,” he says.
Certainly, Wilsonart has a lot of need for the access.
The Fletcher plant, which employs about 700 people, runs two, 10-hour shifts six days a week, with a four-hour down period for maintenance that can also be used for manufacturing when the need arises. Gwennap says.
“We have been very busy,” he says.
Wilsonart makes laminates in hundreds of colors with unique patterns and finishes. One of its most popular products is Wilsonart HD High Definition Laminate, which gives the impression of depth and texture. “It’s going great guns,” Gwennap says.
Story by Sam Scott
Photo by Brian McCord
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