Plywoods-Plasitcs Corporation

Front: This complex, opened in 1942 as Plywoods-Plastics Corporation, has been significant in the industry and economy of Hampton and the lowcountry ever since. In 1941 Plywood Products Corporation bought this site from the town and the Hampton & Branchville RR. It moved its operations here from Michigan to make plywood and laminated plastics for building construction and various household applications. Reverse: Westinghouse bought this plant in 1951 as a branch of its Micarta Division. Until 1995 the Decorative Division made countertops and furniture while the Industrial Division made components for the U.S. Navy and NASA, among other clients. The plant, which employed 1200 at its peak, was sold to International Paper in 1995, then to Kohlberg & Co. in 2002, making laminates under the brand name Nevamar.