In 1954 our founder Vernon Smithers (V.L.) developed his new innovative foam product. This new product was a rigid foam that had the ability to retain and hold water. Through a series of events he was able to find a market segment that valued his new product – the floral industry. This new innovation allowed florists, designers, event planners, and party hosts the ability to move away from what was then the norm when it came to make flower arrangements – chicken wire and newspapers to this new wettable foam.
In the 1970’s Smithers branched out into the horticulture industry by designing and engineering a foam that mimicked the properties of soil. The new foam product had larger more open cells and allowed the foam to drain just like the soil in our farms and gardens. This new grower type foam was designed for a broad spectrum of plant applications; cuttings and seeds to initiate plant growth.
In the 1990’s Smithers pushed the envelope with Phenolic foam and lighter densities and compression strength. Our Phenolic foam was developed and engineered even more to fit new applications and market segments. Impression foam and Packaging foam were both developed to meet market demands.
After the turn of the millennia Smithers pushed into new markets with our Phenolic foam. The newest endeavor has been into Temperature Controlled Packaging. The foam is designed to saturate quickly in a fluid but have minimal drainage. The foam is also cut to exacting dimensional tolerances (+/- 1/16”) for use in the temperature sensitive packages. This exact cutting is critical for the weights and latent heats of the packaging materials.
As we move forward into new business endeavors at Smithers Oasis Engineered Products we look forward to working and partnering with you and to solve your unique applications with our Phenolic foam.