I have been in the kitchen/bath industry since the 70’s , when I started working in my Dad’s showroom.
At that time, he had a Woodmode custom dealership and all the cabinets had particle board construction with melamine wrapping and with wood species veneer on the exposed ends.

I am now in kitchen design for a major home improvement retailer and I still recommend the particle board to my customers. The only change is that now I recommend plywood sides in a species matched veneer on the exposed cabinets.

I do not have any prejudice against particleboard, and I explain to customers that it is just that, it is percieved value, no something based on fact or on my experience. Some customers still insist on all plywood, I accomodate them.

I explain to customers that the cabinetry is not supposed to get wet. And if it does, the failure rate of plywood and particleboard may be equal.

One of my reps who visited a showroom that had been damaged in a flood told me that his product that had particle board sides was simply dried off, while his product with plywood sides had to be replaced because it separated from the moisture.

Now, I have been around long enough to have seen some particleboard fail too, it is always because of moisture due to improper care. I have also seen a lot of cheaply made particle board cabinets that over the years had started to fray and come apart. But, when I show the construction and interiors of the cabinets we are selling in our particular location, most folks see that particle board may not be as bad as they thought.

The bottom line is to sell each customer what they want.