Formica (plastic)

Formica Laminate is a composite material invented at the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in the United States in 1912. Originally used to replace mica in electrical applications, it has since been manufactured for multiple applications. It has been produced by Formica Group manufacturing sites across the globe since. Formica Group are best known for the company's classic product: a heat-resistant, wipe-clean laminate of paper with melamine resin. The mineral mica was commonly used at that time for electrical insulation. Because the new product acted as a substitute "for mica", the inventors used the name Formica as a trademark. The word already existed as the scientific name for a genus of wood ants, from which formic acid and the derivative formaldehyde compound used in the resin were first isolated.