Masonite

[4] Masonite has been widely used in traditional school and office products such as spiral-bound notebooks and three-ring binders, but its unique physical characteristics lend itself readily to a variety of end-uses, including (but not limited to) document storage, filing supplies (classification and file folders), report covers, folding cartons, tags, labels, and industrial applications.

[8] In 1924, Masonite was patented in Laurel, Mississippi,[9] by William H. Mason, who was a friend and protégé of Thomas Edison.

[citation needed] In the 1930s and 1940s, Masonite was used for applications including doors, roofing, walls, desktops, guitars (e.g., Danelectro), and canoes.

[citation needed] Masonite is formed using the Mason method,[14] in which wood chips are disintegrated by saturating them with 100-pound-per-square-inch (690 kPa) steam, then increasing the steam or air pressure to 400 pounds per square inch (2,800 kPa) and suddenly releasing them through an orifice to atmospheric pressure.

Among other things, they use it to protect the walls of buildings where they work, and lay on floors to enable smooth rolling of dollies loaded with goods.

In 1996, International Paper (IP) lost a class action suit brought by homeowners whose Masonite siding had deteriorated.