TCM Americas is pleased to announce that Dr. Mahendra Mehta was inducted into the Decorative and Laminate Industrial Hall of Fame at the 2014 Decorative Surfaces Conference (DSC) in Chicago. 

Dr. Mehta’s proudest moment was developing an overlay which delivers a superior performance compared to the aesthetics and durability of laminate flooring at a fraction of the total flooring cost. 

Dr. Mehta holds a Masters in Physical Chemistry and a Ph.D in Physical Organic Chemistry, with an emphasis in “Reaction Kinetics.” He did his post doctoral research of 6 years in Polymer Chemistry at Baylor University, Texas and Gaylord Research Institute and New Jersey. Dr. Mehta boasts 6 years of consulting and 24 years of progressive and rewarding career at Mead an MWV in various positions. 

His professional career began as a research specialist at Mead Central Research, where he moved up the ranks to become the Director of Technology and Marketing in the WROL product line. He continued his career at MWV as the Senior Director of Global Business Development and then moving to the Managing Director of MWV India position.  He was also the President of Connect – a Strategy, Marketing and Technical consulting company and an Angel investor of Thrillophilia Adventure Tours in India. He was published in over 30 publications in international journals and holds 15 US patents on Friction papers, Decorative papers, Overlay papers and Decorative laminates.

Dr. Mehta is regarded as a pioneer in developing high performance overlays for laminate flooring industry by correctly understanding the technical requirements, customer and consumer needs, market trends and timely developing product and business strategies to meet those needs. He takes a holistic approach to involve pulp suppliers, aluminum oxide suppliers, resin suppliers, equipment suppliers, standard organizations and customers to innovate at a rapid pace.

Dr. Mehta is actively engaged in the following organizations: EPLF, NALFA, CLFC (Chinese laminate flooring committee), Interzum, Surfaces, Domotex, Domotex Asia and IWF. He is also actively involved in addressing abrasion test issues, pre-preg cure issues, understanding scuff in laminates resulting in developing useful standards for laminate floorings. He recognizes another proud moment as observing laminate flooring capturing increasing market share from resilient flooring surfaces and seeing the flooring market skyrocket globally to become a well-established multibillion dollar product line at retail level in less than ten years.

The Decorative and Industrial Laminate Hall of Fame was established to recognize an individual for leadership and service activities, which have significantly and demonstrably contributed to the advancement of the laminate industry.