The annual Design Portfolio, a publication of the Composite Panel Association, provides the most comprehensive guide to specifying composite wood panels and decorative surfaces in North America. The Design Portfolio offers sustainable design solutions for residential, commercial, retail, healthcare, hospitality, and education environments.

Inside Design Portfolio
Specifying composite wood panels: Highlights the sustainable attributes of these wood products and provides examples of applications in specific environments. (See Panels for the planet or view the Design Portfolio.) 

Product descriptions: Provides a descriptive overview of composite panels and decorative surfaces, including common applications and key physical properties. (See article links below or view the Design Portfolio.)

Product guides: Details company-specific product information from the prominent manufacturers and suppliers of composite panels and decorative surfaces products, including designations for Eco-Certified Composites (ECC), no-added formaldehyde (NAF), and Ultra Low Emitting Formaldehyde (ULEF) products. (See article links below or view the Design Portfolio.)

Sales contact information: An extensive directory of North American composite panel and decorative surfaces industry companies. (View the Design Portfolio or visit the Composite Panel Association's website).

MORE INFO   Design Portfolio Read the complete Design Portfolio: The definitive guide to sourcing decorative surfaces and composite panels.   Composite Panel Association  More information, plus industry news, testing & certification, policy and stewardship at the Composite Panel Association's website CompositePanel.org

North American Composite Panels
North American wood-based composite panels, including medium density fiberboard (MDF), particleboard, engineered wood siding and trim (EWST), and hardboard, provide architects, designers, specifiers, and manufacturers with a unique and unmatched combination of design capability, quality, and sustainability.

Composite panels can be engineered to meet any project requirement, providing a durable and versatile substrate for decorative surfaces that are affordable, consistent, uniform in strength, and free of defects. Customers can specify physical and mechanical properties and surface characteristics to customize products with the ideal attributes. By their very nature, North American composite panel products are also among the greenest materials in the world and an excellent choice for anyone looking for renewable, recycled products designed for the built environment.

Learn more about composite panels in the 2024 Design Portfolio or by clicking on the article links below:

• Panels for the planet
• MDF
• Particleboard
• Hardboard
• Engineered wood siding & trim

Decorative Surfaces
Decorative surfaces continue to defy the limits of realism with deep textures and sophisticated finishes like matte, lacquer, and high gloss that replicate natural and man-made materials with enhanced fidelity, durability, and reproducibility. 
Decorative surfaces are engineered to offer limitless options for design, functionality, reproducibility, and cleanability, making them widely accepted by consumers and specified without hesitation by professionals. They are used in various applications, including cabinets, mouldings, flooring, furniture, countertops, store fixtures, doors, and shelving, across a variety of environments. 

Learn more about decorative surface options in the 2024 Design Portfolio or by clicking on the article links below:

• Decorative surfaces on trend
• Thermally fused laminate (TFL)
• 2D & 3D laminates & films
• Light basis weight papers & decorative foils
• High pressure laminate
• Coatings
• Veneer
•  as well as Adhesives

Sustainable. Renewable. Verifiable.
Composite panels are manufactured using recycled wood fiber with almost zero waste. Designers and builders should seek composite wood panels with the CPA 4-19 Eco-Certified Composite (ECC) Sustainability Standard seal, the world’s leading sustainability certification standard. ECC certification includes regular audits based on life cycle inventory and other verifiable environmentally responsible practices. 

Choosing North American composite wood products can help the design and build community earn points toward major environmental building certification programs, including the most prominent U.S. green building certifications through U.S. Green Building Council LEED, Green Building Initiative (GBI) Green Globes, and National Green Building Standard (NGBS). Learn more about ECC and how to earn credit with green building standards.

About the Composite Panel Association
Over 60 years ago, the Composite Panel Association (CPA) was formed to bring together the North American composite panel industry. Today, CPA represents more than 90% of the North American manufacturing capacity, including the leading manufacturers of MDF, particleboard, hardboard, and engineered wood siding and trim, and has built upon that legacy to proudly include laminators, fabricators, distributors, and manufacturers of decorative surfaces, finished products, and equipment. 
CPA offers extensive technical, regulatory, and standards information about the products referenced in the Design Portfolio. Learn more at CompositePanel.org.

Composite Panel Association, 19465 Deerfield Ave., Suite 306, Leesburg, Virginia 20176
International Testing Center (ITC), 73 Lawson Road, Suite 101, Leesburg, VA  20175
(703) 724-1128, CompositePanel.org