MONTGOMERY, Minn. - The Corn Palace, the famed U.S. tourist attraction, has adopted BioSurf, a corn-based eco-friendly decorative laminate that uses custom digital printing to offer design flexibility to architects, interior designers, building owners, and product fabricators. 

Located in Mitchell, SD, the Corn Palace was founded in 1892 to showcase regional agriculture, doubling as an entertainment venue. Today, the facility is known for presenting a steady diet of concerts and sporting events which attract 500,000 tourists annually.  Also known for its design artistry, the Corn Palace is completing its largest renovation ever. Part of the remake features wall murals that will provide both function and aesthetics.

ARTICLE Valchromat colored engineered wood captures light Valchromat, sold by Interlam, is a machinable engineered wood product that combines the natural features of wood with the brightness of colors.

"To cultivate the overall theme of this project, we researched to see if any corn-based building materials exist that would also meet our functional design needs," said Eric Amel, architect for Minneapolis-based Meyer Scherer & Rockcastle. 
"I discovered BioSurf and immediately gave Biovation a call. It was not only corn based, but provided an ideal set of attributes — bio-based to provide high sustainability, no red-list materials to optimize public safety, and digital printing to offer image customization. This combination made BioSurf the clear choice for the project."

BioSurf, made by Biovation, is a bio-based, formaldehyde-free & PVC-free decorative laminate that also offers custom digital imagery, transparent scratch-and-chemical resistant surfacing, high formability, and on-demand production for applications including wall panels, table tops, cabinets, furniture, store fixtures, ceiling tiles, and signage.

"The custom-digital aspect of BioSurf was very appealing," said Amel. "We wanted the lobby to feature photomurals of past palace exteriors, a corn-field panorama, and a historical timeline - all expanded to large scale. BioSurf enabled us to make all of these ideas a reality using a durable surface at an affordable price."

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Terry Johnson, Deputy Director of Public Works for the City of Mitchell, which operates The Corn Palace, says, "We are extremely pleased with how the BioSurf panels turned out. Visitors routinely take photos beside the BioSurf wall panels given the images are so relevant and striking - they are a huge draw.

"In practice, we find the durability of BioSurf to be equally impressive. We get a lot of visitors per day which previously led to scratches, markings, and other wall damage. Now, we never see damage where we use BioSurf panels.  In fact, we are installing more BioSurf on the lower four feet of high traffic areas to keep our walls clean. While the corn-component of the BioSurf story matters to us, its overall performance is its selling point for us today."

About Biovation
Biovation Acquisition Company sells patents and products that solve industry challenges surrounding performance, sustainability, and safety.  Current innovations include HySoyTM, BioSurf, MicroPlyTM, StratusTM, BioFireTM, SafeLensTM, and OptiCleanTM.  Many Biovation products incorporate Cradle-to-Cradle CertifiedTM IngeoTM polylactic acid by NatureWorks.  Biovation drives patent sales through biovation.net and product sales through product-specific websites such as  www.biosurfsolutions.com.