[Photo: Courtesy of Scranton Products]
Scranton Products’ Aria partitions create high-design, sustainable spaces that are private and comfortable, too.
Public restroom politics aren’t being flushed away anytime soon, and the time has come to rethink commercial bathroom design. Fortunately, Scranton Products is ahead of the game. Their customizable Aria Partitions provide the ultimate privacy without sacrificing aesthetics.
Founded as a family-owned sheet manufacturing business in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the company used to manufacture flat sheets for a variety of uses—from cutting boards to playground equipment. In the late 1980s, they began making door partitions and lockers, and in 2006, rebranded as Scranton Products.
Designed for Privacy
“We focus on giving the total privacy experience without having to build actual rooms,” says Maria Knapp, marketing manager for Scranton Products. One easy way the company does this is with the new Aria partitions, which come standard in 86-inch and 112-inch height compartments to provide the ultimate privacy experience.
A standard restroom stall usually has about 14 inches of space below the door, allowing for that awkward moment when someone peeks underneath the door to see whether a stall is occupied. Scranton Products eliminates all those gaps and sightlines with innovative design and an indicator latch that clearly identifies whether a door is occupied.
The Aria partitions incorporate overlapping edges and floor-mounted side panels as well as a transom panel—a solid section across the top of the door for added privacy. Aria also includes continuous edge-mounted hinges that not only block sightlines, but hide the hinge so it looks nicer, too. Scranton Products has already installed several high-privacy partitions in co-ed dorms with unisex restrooms.
Customized Options
Aria partitions offer countless design combinations so you can not only get the privacy you want—you can get the look, too. Scranton Products has 17 door designs, so you’re bound to find a style you like with a more residential vibe. Make the design your own by choosing the style, texture, and color, and add custom engraving inside or out.
“Aria is our flagship when it comes to design,” says Rob Donlon, vice president of sales and marketing for Scranton Products. “There are more than 50,000 different design combinations. With remodels, it’s not that the product is damaged or not performing well, often people just want a different color or they’re changing the theme.”
Scranton Products is currently developing a new 3D visualizer tool for all of their products. With it, you’ll be able to select color, panels, and hardware to create a detailed 3D rendering. “With Aria, there are a lot of options, features, and opportunities to be creative, which is different than other partition offerings,” Donlon says.
[Photo: Courtesy of Scranton Products]
Recyclable Materials
Scranton Products prioritizes sustainability and high design in every product. “Our products are 100% sustainable. We’re all about zero landfill waste here,” Donlon says. Harvest Seasonal Grill & Wine Bar, a farm-to-table restaurant, took their sustainable design from the kitchen into the bathroom with the help of Scranton Products’ Aria Partitions. “Our sustainable design flows right into our restroom areas. Our partitions we just put in are made from recycled plastic, which is neat because after we’re finished they can be recycled again,” says Randy Park, the restaurant’s manager.
Scranton Products also uses a mix of post-industrial and post-consumer materials in their partitions. Plus, all Scranton Products brands are GREENGUARD Gold Certified, which means they meet strict certification requirements and important safety guidelines for use in schools and health care facilities. In fact, all of the company’s products have a low chemical emissions rating thanks to their solid color throughout and no need for painting or repainting.
The company is also committed to using high-density polyethylene, or HDPE. “We’re the only manufacturer that exclusively offers one material source because we believe it’s the most reliable material option for these applications,” Knapp says. HDPE will not rust or delaminate over time like stainless steel or plastic laminate. It also has solid pigmented composition all the way through, so you don’t have to repaint the surface like you would metal, Knapp says. The high-quality material resists dents and scratches, and Aria Partitions come with a 25-year limited warranty.
Aria Partitions are naturally microbial resistant—nothing adheres to the surface, and they can easily be wiped clean. HDPE is also impermeable to moisture, so it doesn’t support the growth of mold, mildew, or bacteria. “If someone with the flu touches the handle, the microbes and bacteria will die overnight,” Donlon says. “HDPE has zero absorption so microbes cannot feed off of anything.”
Easy Installation
Donlon also points out that HDPE material is easy to customize in the field, especially for remodels where you have to consider piping and plumbing. “You can modify it with any woodworking tool. Metal doesn’t lend itself to being modified in the field with the equipment that installers would have on-hand,” he says.
The installation process is simple because Scranton Products’ partitions are lightweight. “They’re easy to maneuver and install,” Donlon says. “And we focused on the little details—all screwheads are the same so it’s as easy as possible for the installer.”
Scranton Products recycles old partitions into new products. [Photo: Courtesy of Scranton Products]
Why This Matters
Public restroom design is not a new concern—it’s even been a topic on Seinfeld. In one episode, George tells his bride-to-be, “I will never understand the bathrooms in this country. Why is it that the doors on the stalls do not come all the way down to the floor?” Like Scranton Products, George realized traditional public restroom design just wasn’t cutting it.
With increased conversations and laws arising related to transgender restrooms, public facilities have been in the news even more. “I think what you need to provide is a space that can be used by someone regardless of their gender or orientation,” says Rob Donlon, vice president of sales and marketing for Scranton Products. “It doesn’t matter how you identify—you have total privacy. We want the spaces we provide to be comfortable and clean. The last thing you want is for someone to be uncomfortable, nervous, or embarrassed.”
Donlon says the company’s Aria Partitions are both reacting to the evolving social landscape and responding to the fundamental human desire to have more privacy. “I’d say privacy is a more valuable commodity today than it was 10 years ago,” he continues. “Now you have security cameras and social media. The need for privacy in a private moment is accented even more than it was before.”
[Photo: Courtesy of Scranton Products]
