Over the last two decades the cladding market has seen a dramatic rise in surface options due to both domestic innovation and new product entries from Europe. These new products have expanded the design palette for architects and have also been added to the fabricator’s arsenal. The modern fabricator is no longer a single product supplier, but rather a multi-faceted provider of many cladding substrates.

CEI Materials has invested heavily in the areas of design, technology, and robotic production capabilities in order to become a modern fabricator and better serve its AEC customers. Over the next several months we are going to spotlight the meaning of the modern fabricator and how CEI Materials has adapted and developed internal processes in order to meet market demands.

When a company looks to create a Corporate Identity Program (CID), whether that be in hospitality, retail, food service, automotive, or medical markets, they seek the creation of a design that will bolster their brand’s equity. A CID Program becomes a visual representation of a brand and when that design is erected, a brand seeks to duplicate the design on a national, and often international, basis.

Over the last two decades, fabrication has dramatically changed. Traditional cladding materials such as glass, stone and metal now share the architectural space with cladding products such as fiber cement and high-pressure laminates. The evolution of materials has influenced the growth of the fabricator. As architects seek shared wall space exteriors, it is the fabricator’s responsibility to stay abreast to new trends and adapt to architecture’s ever-changing trajectory.

CEI Materials offers a wide range of column covers, from round, square, cone-shaped or custom for architectural projects. These covers can be installed using three different types of attachment systems, Hairline, Caulked or Dry Joint, depending on the design requirements. Offering various diameters, the lengths can be as small as 11” to up to 142”. These covers not only offer design flexibility but from a visual perspective give a finalizing touch in the overall exterior or interior design of the building.