Manufacturing News
October 3, 2026
October 3, 2026 · Elkhart County · Story 3 of 5
Supersede's Bristol Plant Bets Marine Plywood Prices Have Pushed RV Makers to Switch
Supersede opened its 100,000 square foot plant in Bristol, Elkhart County, with 65 first-phase jobs, and it is now shipping product. The plant makes Marine Board, a recycled polypropylene panel designed to replace plywood or OSB one for one. Bristol is targeting about 40 million square feet of output a year across eight production lines.
The anchor customer is Coachmen, a Forest River brand, located about 10 miles away in Middlebury, for travel trailer floors. Supersede CEO Sean Petterson estimates marine plywood prices are up about 50%, which is the case he is making to every other RV builder in the region. Coachmen's involvement puts Supersede inside one of the three largest RV manufacturers in the country, even with Patrick Industries' Elkboard already competing for the same floors.
If plywood or OSB sits in your bill of materials, request a qualification sample. Compare installed cost, not just panel price, because a cheaper panel that requires different fasteners or framing can erase its own savings fast.
- Impact
- Patrick Industries' 'Elkboard' composite panel line, acquired via Elkhart Composites in February 2025, is the direct incumbent already supplying Thor, Forest River and Winnebago at scale, making Supersede's Coachmen deal a deliberate flanking move into an OEM not locked into Patrick's ecosystem. Stacked U.S. tariffs of 35-43% on Chinese plywood plus Section 232 timber duties have pushed marine plywood prices up roughly 50%, while NGO campaigns from Earthsight and Mighty Earth targeting Thor, Forest River and Winnebago's meranti wood sourcing give OEMs a sustainability reason to switch alongside the cost case.
- Watch
- Whether other Elkhart OEMs (Thor, Forest River, Winnebago, Jayco, Keystone) follow Coachmen's lead and convert additional model lines as Supersede's three-phase capacity ramp proceeds.
- For the huddle
Is there a cheaper alternative to marine plywood for RV floors?
Supersede's Marine Board, a recycled polypropylene panel made in Bristol, Indiana, is marketed as a one-for-one replacement for plywood and OSB, with CEO Sean Petterson pointing to marine plywood prices up about 50% as the reason to switch. If plywood sits in your bill of materials, request a qualification sample and compare installed cost, not just panel price, before you decide.
From the brief, October 3, 2026
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- Amazon's $100 Million Greenwood Robotics Plant Opens a Supplier Question
- Supersede's Bristol Plant Bets Marine Plywood Prices Have Pushed RV Makers to Switch
- Cleveland-Cliffs: Fatality, Ontario Idling, and Indiana Workers Left on Contract Extensions
- Studebaker Museum's 'Motor City, Indiana' Exhibit Reclaims Northern Indiana's Auto Legacy
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