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Summit Designs stakes claim on countertops By Melissa Martin CENTRAL POINT � When it comes to DuPont Corian, Jerre Fisher wrote the book on it. The master craftsman from Summit Designs of the Pacific Northwest Inc. in Central Point has been fabricating the solid surface material for 22 years, serving as a contributing editor to early DuPont instruction manuals. "Jerre Fisher has more experience than anyone in the state of Oregon," said Pete Shorey, distributor fabrication manager for C.A. Newell Co., the Portland company that distributes DuPont Corian. Name: Summit Designs of the Pacific Northwest Inc. Service: Fabricates and installs solid surfaces, mostly DuPont Corian. Location: Manzanita and Highway 99, Central Point. Phone Number: 664-7338. Owners: Bruce and Gretchen Woolf. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or by appointment. Notable: A Central Point showroom offers examples of Corian sinks and countertops that have no lips to collect bacteria or grime. There are examples of bathroom sinks, kitchen sinks, desks, cutting boards and drain boards, all made of the easy-care product that comes in 81 colors. Summit Designs is among 17 Oregon companies that fabricate and install Corian, a coveted material for kitchen sinks and countertops, bathtubs and showers, hot tub decks and fireplace hearths. Corian is popular for its easy care, long life and resistance to mold and bacteria, said Bruce and Gretchen Woolf, owners of Summit Designs. "It�s a cleanliness factor," said Bruce Woolf. "Corian is non-porous, so it won�t harbor bacterial growth." Known in the scientific world as aluminum trihydrate polymethylmethacrylate, Corian is made from natural minerals that are common ingredients in toothpaste, eyeglass frames and other products. Corian has been around since 1966, but in 1981, DuPont invented a nearly-invisible adhesive that created a seamless-looking countertop. "That�s what revolutionized the whole solid surface industry," Fisher said. What ends up as a kitchen counter or hot tub deck starts out as a 150-pound sheet of Corian manufactured in New York. Fisher measures the project site at the customer�s home or business, and fabricates the project at the Central Point shop. Then he hauls it to the site and installs it, often in one day. Summit Designs has installed Corian in a variety of dwellings and businesses, from manufactured homes to mansions. They�ve built teller windows for Klamath First Federal, lobby counters for Red Lion Inn, reception desk tops at Brophy Mills Schmor Gerkey Attorneys in downtown Medford. Corian�s disadvantage is the price, about $3,000 to $5,000 for an average kitchen. Formica kitchens cost 80 percent less and tile kitchens about half. Only stone costs about the same as Corian, said Medford contractor Paul Hartsook. "The thing I like about (Corian), it�s very streamlined and durable," Hartsook said. "If there�s a problem in the surface, it can be worked out and sanded out because it doesn�t have a finish. "I first used it 22 years ago when there was no one in the valley that fabricated it," he said. "The people came out of Portland to install it." Woolf, along with his wife, Gretchen, opened Summit Designs nearly seven years ago. A previous certified fabricator fled town without paying bills or finishing projects. "Summit Designs did everybody a favor by coming in and picking up the liabilities," said Shorey. "They reestablished the good name of Corian." Fisher�s Corian credits include building laboratory cabinets at Children�s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. "He�s an excellent craftsman," said Bob Hazlett, owner of American Synthetic Surfaces Inc. in Maryland, which coordinated the project. Shorey added that "when Jerre Fisher came in the business, this product was so new. It was trial-and-error and make-it-up-as-you-go-along. But Jerre Fisher learned the best technique for fabricating this product and a lot of what he learned, he passed on to others. Much like any science or craft, the best techniques are learned the hard way and the people coming up behind them benefit from their knowledge." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.