American Bath Group: automating catalogs, SKU books, and technical sheets

Founded in 1993, American Bath Group (ABG) has grown into one of North America’s leading manufacturers of bathware products. Headquartered in Savannah, Tennessee, the company employs more than 3,600 people across the United States and Canada.

ABG operates a portfolio of 21 brands, including MAAX, Swan, Bootz, Aquatic, and Clarion. Together, these brands cover a wide spectrum of the market, from residential and multi-family housing to commercial, assisted living, and premium showroom segments.

Its product range is extensive, spanning showers, integrated tub/showers, bathtubs, shower bases, whirlpools, spas, vanities, and sinks. These products are sold through wholesale, retail, and e-commerce channels, reaching builders, plumbers, contractors, and end users across North America.

In managing such a broad product portfolio, ABG faced increasing complexity in producing catalogs, SKU books, and technical sheets for multiple brands and languages. To address these challenges, the company turned to Pagination to build a more efficient, automated publishing process.

The challenge of managing complex catalogs and technical sheets

Before working with Pagination, ABG relied on a highly complex in-house system to manage its catalogs, SKU books, and technical sheets. The system aggregated data from multiple sources, and changes to layouts, product structures, or data rules often required time-consuming interventions.

The company was looking for a more sustainable solution capable of handling thousands of SKUs, multiple document types, and bilingual editions in English and French, while also reducing costs and manual dependencies.

Pagination’s solution: automating catalogs and technical documents for American Bath Group

Pagination addressed ABG’s challenges with a robust document automation solution designed to handle thousands of SKUs, multiple brands, and bilingual output. The platform replaced a rigid and unstable process with an efficient, scalable workflow, while ensuring full control over layout design and product presentation.

Multi-Document Workflow

American Bath Group initially adopted Pagination to automate its catalogs. Over time, the collaboration expanded, and the platform is now used to create three main types of documents:

• Catalogs: full-line catalogs including technical tables, engineering drawings, and detailed product features. Each catalog is structured into product categories, with the system automatically inserting the correct branded cover at the start of each section.

• Technical Sheets: from a single Excel file, Pagination generates hundreds of product sheets in PDF. Each file contains specifications, dimensions, and color options.

• SKU Books: compact reference documents summarizing product ranges with icons and key features. These are particularly valuable for sales teams and distributors who need quick but accurate overviews.

Structured Data and Automated Templates

ABG now manages its publishing workflow using Excel data files exported from internal systems. Each document type has its own dedicated file, keeping the process clear and reliable. Marketing teams prepare the file with the most recent product information, upload it to the cloud, and Pagination automatically generates the required outputs.

The company also provided its own InDesign templates, especially for catalog covers. Pagination adapted these into dynamic layouts capable of supporting different product layouts. The system also applies merge catalog cover rules to introduce the correct cover for each category and brand, ensuring professional results across thousands of pages.

Key features of this setup include:

• Dedicated data files: one Excel export per document type, making updates simple and transparent.

• Dynamic layouts: automated integration of both technical tables and illustrated product pages.

• Automatic cover merging: each product category begins with the correct branded cover, in the right language.

DAM Integration

All product images used in catalogs, SKU books, and technical sheets are sourced directly from the ABG’s Digital Asset Management (DAM) system. This ensures that every document always contains the latest approved visuals, avoiding duplication and eliminating the risk of outdated or inconsistent images.

In addition, the technical sheets generated with Pagination are automatically uploaded to the DAM.  Pagination also attaches the correct metadata to each file, ensuring proper classification, easier indexing, and faster retrieval.

This seamless DAM integration guarantees that distributors, contractors, and end users can quickly find and download accurate product information, while reducing the workload for internal teams and keeping the document library constantly up to date.

Multilingual Publishing

With Pagination’s multilingual functionality, ABG produces all documents in English and French. By naming input files according to brand and language, the platform generates the appropriate version without duplicating work. All static text elements, such as titles, headers, and footers, adapt automatically, guaranteeing consistency across regional editions.

Results and Tangible Benefits

Streamlined catalog creation

By adopting catalog automation, ABG achieved a significant acceleration in its publishing workflow. Complex catalogs and thousands of technical sheets are now generated in hours instead of weeks. Updates can be released more frequently, reducing costs and allowing the company to react quickly to product changes or market needs.

Brand consistency and accuracy

With Pagination’s catalog software, ABG maintains strict control over design and brand identity across 21 brands. Layouts, fonts, and imagery remain consistent, regardless of the document type. Errors caused by manual formatting were eliminated, while metadata integration improved DAM organization and searchability.

Scalability across brands

Using dedicated structured data files for each document type, ABG can easily extend automation to new product lines or brands. The same workflow now supports thousands of SKUs, multiple languages, and a growing portfolio of catalogs and technical sheets without redesigning the process.

Improved digital asset management

All technical sheets and images are automatically synchronized with the company’s DAM. Files are uploaded with the correct metadata and linked to approved images, ensuring that contractors, distributors, and end users always access up-to-date and reliable product information. This seamless integration reduced manual work for internal teams and kept ABG’s library organized and searchable.

Key takeaways: the value of catalog automation in a multi-brand environment

American Bath Group’s collaboration with Pagination shows how automation can transform the production of complex, multilingual documents across multiple brands. By centralizing product data and automating the creation of catalogs, SKU books, and technical sheets, ABG has improved speed, accuracy, and consistency while reducing manual workload.

With a scalable catalog maker, the company now produces thousands of pages in English and French, all aligned with brand guidelines and integrated with its DAM system. What once required weeks of effort can now be completed in hours, giving ABG the agility to update documents more frequently and respond quickly to market needs.

This case study highlights the benefits of adopting automation for any business that manages extensive product data and multiple brands. By partnering with Pagination, ABG has built a future-proof publishing process that combines efficiency, flexibility, and long-term reliability.

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