Located in West Trenton since its founding in 1909, Homasote Company is the nation's oldest manufacturer of building products made from post consumer recycled wastepaper. But, it wasn't always called Homasote. Eugenius H. Outerbridge incorporated the firm on August 23, 1909 under the name Agasote Millboard Company.

He set out to manufacture a high density fiber board using a secret process purchased in England. Little did he know how far this process would carry his company.

Until 1915, the Agasote Millboard Company manufactured roof panels for railroad passenger cars. Then Outerbridge learned his products were suitable for automobile roofs as well. Agasote was soon producing material for most of the leading auto makers of the time.

The company first introduced Homasote board, a building product, in 1916. It was strong, lightweight and had amazing weather resistant properties. In fact, it was so impervious to weather extremes, the U.S. Government began to purchase it for use in the construction of field hospitals and military housing in France during World War I. In the years to come, the U.S. Government would come back to purchase Homasote for the Valejo Housing Project, the Byrd Expedition to Antarctica, and construction of the "DEW" line -- Distant Early Warning radar sites along the Arctic Circle.

After the World War I, Homasote® board stock became the company's most important and versatile product. It was then that the Agasote Millboard Company officially changed its name, on October 31, 1936, to Homasote Company.

Just prior to World War II, Homasote developed a system of prefabricating housing. Known as the Precision Built System of Construction, it was used in the Valejo, California project where 977 houses were erected in only 73 working days.

Homasote's ability to resist weathering was dramatically illustrated in a letter received by Homasote in 1947. Amory H. Waite, Jr., a radio engineer for the Admiral Byrd expeditions to the South Pole, offered eloquent testimony to the amazing properties of Homasote® board.

With these historic achievements as a foundation, Homasote has expanded the commercial and residential applications of its unique recycled board and grown sales to over $30 million a year. Some of the more popular Homasote products now being used everyday include its Comfort Base sub-flooring, Design Wall fabric coated office partitions, and Homex expansion joints, to name a few. In fact, some of today's world-renowned architects have specified Homasote products for designs ranging from the Audobon Building to the on-air sets for MTV.

Homasote established a separate Industrial Department in 1945 to provide custom designed solutions for wide-ranging industrial packaging problems. For more than fifty years, Homasote's Pak-Line Division has successfully -- and cost efficiently -- met the challenges of its industrial clients. For recent applications, please refer to our case studies.