Polyvision is a company that manufactures CeramicSteel surfaces for applications such as
whiteboard
A whiteboard (also known by the terms marker board, dry-erase board, dry-wipe board, and pen-board) is a glossy, usually white surface for making non-permanent markings. Whiteboards are analogous to blackboards, but with a smoother surface al ...
s,
chalkboards, architectural surfaces and panels, and infrastructure projects. Headquartered in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, Polyvision was acquired by Industrial Opportunity Partners in February 2020. The company was founded in 1954 under the name Information Display Technology, Inc. and began operating under the name PolyVision in May 1995. PolyVision has production facilities in
Okmulgee, Oklahoma
Okmulgee is a city in, and the county seat of, Okmulgee County, Oklahoma. The name is from the Mvskoke word ''okimulgee,'' which means "boiling waters".Bamburg, Maxine"Okmulgee,"''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. Accessed June 16 ...
and
Genk, Belgium
Genk () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. It is one of the most important industrial towns in Flanders, located on the Albert Canal, b ...
, with their Okmulgee facility being one of the area's major employers.
Mergers and acquisitions
In 1998, Polyvision purchased Alliance International Group, a manufacturer of CeramicSteel products used in visual displays and writing surfaces, for about $75 million.
Polyvision acquired Nelson Adams in May 1999.
In January 2000, Polyvision purchased both American Chalkboard and Peninsular Slate.
Polyvision became a subsidiary of Steelcase in August 2001. In 2012, it was announced that Polyvision’s educational technology products would become part of the Steelcase Education Solutions group.
Polyvision was acquired by Industrial Opportunities Partners in February 2020.
Projects
Polyvision has created surfaces for
public art
Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...
installations:
* The "Flat Earth" mural at the
Dijkzigt Metro Station in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
, artwork by
Peter Jansen
* Artwork at
Telok Ayer MRT station
Telok Ayer MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Downtown line (DTL). Situated in Outram, Singapore, the station serves various offices and commercial developments around the junction of Cross Street and Telo ...
in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, art by Lim Shing Ee and Kazunori Takeishi
Awards and recognition
Some of PolyVision's products have won awards at the
NeoCon World's Trade Fair:
Other awards
*2005 MAX Award winner for the Walk-and-Talk Interactive Panel and Cordless Lectern
*2010 Best in Tech by
Scholastic
Polyvision's Genk facility was the first European CeramicSteel manufacturer to earn a
Cradle-to-Cradle
Cradle-to-cradle design (also referred to as 2CC2, C2C, cradle 2 cradle, or regenerative design) is a biomimetic approach to the design of products and systems that models human industry on nature's processes, where materials are viewed as nutri ...
certification for its environmentally sustainable practices.
References
{{reflist, 2
Manufacturing companies based in Georgia (U.S. state)
Manufacturing companies of the United States
Industrial supply companies