Empire West, Inc.

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Empire West, Inc., a small, local business with a worldwide reach, has been specializing in thermoforming plastic products since 1968 and is a privately held company located in Graton, California. The organization is also known as Empire West Plastics, Inc. and owns the brand names Ceilume Ceiling Tiles and Safe-Guard PET-G Optics Packaging.

Company history

The original name, Empire West Plastics, Inc., was derived not from the Redwood Empire, but from New York state's moniker Empire State. Originally founded in Petaluma, California in 1968, the company moved from to its present site in Graton, California in 1980. The name was changed to Empire West, Inc. in 1985.

Example of Evangeline ceiling tiles from Ceilume

Safe-Guard PET-G Optics Packaging

The company initially offered handling trays for the photofinishing industry, custom industrial thermoformed housings and enclosures, and packaging for high value laser optics handling and storage. In 1992 the optical products were spun off under the brand name Safe-Guard PET-G Optics Packaging.

Ceilume Ceiling Tiles

Created in 2002, the product line Ceilume Ceiling Tiles offers low cost, low maintenance, easy to install, decorative ceiling tiles which can be mounted directly to a ceiling surface or installed in a suspended ceiling (AKA dropped ceiling) grid system. The tiles are Class A Fire Rated, FDA compliant, and GREENGUARD Gold Certified. (Please see the Ceilume "Technical Info" web site for citations.) Ceilume's Better than Tin ceiling tiles offer replicas of historic tin ceilings.

Custom thermoforming

Custom thermoforming, another one of the original products of Empire West Plastics, is still available on a case-by-case basis.

Certified training

Ceilume is one of the companies providing training through the Continuing Education Program offered by Architects Magazine in partnership with Hanley Wood University. The course “Ceil with Thermoformed Tiles and Panels: A New Vocabulary for Overhead Design” qualifies for 1 CEU (continuing education unit).

Awards and recognition

  • In November 2007, Ceilume Ceiling Tiles were included in the list of "2007's Most Requested Products" by Walls and Ceilings Magazine
  • In April 2010, Ceilume Ceiling Tiles received an honorable mention in the Innovative Materials category of the Bloom Awards, presented by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID).
  • In July 2013, The Vinyl Institute featured Ceilume Ceiling Tiles in an article "Versatile Vinyl Ceiling Tiles Top Off Rooms with Style"
  • In July 2013, Empire West, Inc. was named one of 11 winners in the annual Top Manufacturers in the North Bay Awards presented by the North Bay Business Journal.
  • In December 2013, Ceilume Ceiling Tiles were included in the list of "2013's Most Requested Products" by Walls and Ceilings Magazine
  • December 2014 saw Ceilume Ceiling Tiles receive a Product Innovation Award from Architectural Products Magazine (see page 60)
  • Also in 2014, Architectural Record Magazine included Ceilume Ceiling Tiles in the Finishes & Surfacing category of "2014 Record Products" (scroll to sixth photo)
  • The March 2015 issue of Building Design + Construction Magazine listed Ceilume Ceiling tiles as one of “7 Sleek Selections for Ceiling and Acoustical Systems” (see page 53)