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Events

1 - 49 of 49

Date	Title	Category
03/16/1912	MOFC Incorporated The Metal Office Furniture Co. is incorporated after Peter M. Wege moves to Grand Rapids, Michigan. With the help of 11 investors, Wege's dream of competing in "The Furniture City" amongst wood furniture... View	Company
1914	Victor Wastebasket Introduced The introduction of the Victor, a steel wastebasket, is a win-win for all parties. This fireproof product quickly becomes a top seller for Metal Office Furniture Co. Due to the low manufacturing costs... View	Products
1915	First Desk Sale Our product line offerings in 1915 are safe deposit vault equipment, lockers, strong boxes, steel shelving, and wastebaskets. However, this doesn't stop Metal Office Furniture Co. from submitting a bid... View	Products
1922	Dealer Network Launched Metal Office Furniture Co. is one of the first companies known to build an official dealer organization. Our first dealer is in St. Louis, Missouri. By 1968 we will have nearly 900 dealers in all 50 states... View	Industry
1927	On Board with Lucky Lindy Metal Office Furniture Co. makes and installs a custom-built desk aboard the Tri-motor plane that Charles Lindbergh uses for publicity tours around the United States after his transatlantic flight. The... View	Products
11/26/1928	Entrance into the International Market The Steelcase trademark makes its first appearance in Argentina, with brochures for 1200 Line file cabinets printed in Spanish. This marks our entry into the international market. View	Company
1932	“Century of Progress” Desk The "Century of Progress" desk is designed for the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago. It introduces the island base. View	Products
1932	Production of Vegetable Spray Units As another means of surviving the Depression, Metal Office Furniture Co. produces Vegetable Spray Units under the Terrell name. These units are designed for grocery store displays, helping fruits and vegetables... View	Products
12/23/1936	Terrell’s Equipment Stock Purchased Terrell’s Equipment Co., which was founded in Grand Rapids in 1908, manufactured steel cabinets, lockers and shelving. Metal Office Furniture Co. had obtained a controlling interest in Terrell in 1925,... View	Company
1937	Frank Lloyd Wright-Designed Furniture for S.C. Johnson Wax Building Metal Office Furniture Co. manufactures office furniture for the S.C. Johnson Wax Building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Racine, Wisconsin. As a result of a two-year design and production partnership... View	Products
1942	Naval Contracts Won Metal Office Furniture Co. wins a $254,000 contract to make lightweight, sturdy steel furnishings for U.S. Naval cruiser class ships. As a result of the war, all manufacturing of steel furniture for commercial... View	Products
1946	Multiple 15 Desk Introduced Metal Office Furniture Co. introduces a postwar desk that has been in design since 1942. “Multiple 15” is designed on 15-inch dimensions, allowing for better space planning in open offices. By 1960... View	Products
12/27/1951	Steelcase Foundation Formed A form for a Trust Indenture is submitted for the establishment of a charitable foundation to be known as “The Metal Office Furniture Company Foundation.” Over time, the Company has donated a portion... View	Communities
1952	Convertibles Introduced Metal Office Furniture Co. introduces Convertibles. These products provide users with more storage space, wider knee-space and greater stability for electric typewriters and calculating machines, while... View	Products
1953	Sunshine Styling Color an Industry First Metal Office Furniture Co. expands the palette for metal office furniture with Sunshine Styling. The new colors, inspired by David D. Hunting’s trip to Arizona, are Desert Sage, Blond Tan, Mist Green,... View	Products
1954	Steelcase Canada Ltd. Founded Fred A. Bell founds Steelcase Canada Ltd. in Don Mills, Ontario (a suburb of Toronto), the first operation located outside of the United States. The facility includes 15,000 square feet of showroom and... View	Company
12/01/1954	Company Name Change: Steelcase Inc. The Company name officially becomes Steelcase Inc., differentiating it from competitors who use variations of “metal office furniture” in their names. This change allows us to capitalize on our successful... View	Company
1956	Flight Line Desks for the Office of the Future Steelcase introduces the Flight Line of desks – square-cornered, contemporary-designed steel desks with one-inch square tubular legs exposed top to base. Flight Line reflects the Space Age zeitgeist... View	Products
1958	1300 Line Desks Introduced Steelcase introduces the 1300 Line of contemporary desks, credenzas, and cabinets. The 1300 Line is the first desk to offer either a stainless steel binding on the top edge or a Textolite self-edged top.... View	Products
1960	2200 Line Desks Introduced The 2200 Line is the industry’s first furniture with flush drawer pulls, tambour-door cabinets, and letter-/ legal-size modular cabinets with guaranteed drawer alignment. It is the only flush-type design... View	Products
09/13/1961	Datacase Introduced At the 50-Year Anniversary Dealer Meeting, “Accent on Excellence,” a complete line of Datacase data processing auxiliaries is announced. This line is designed to accommodate the requirements of customers'... View	Products
1963	Steelcase Coordinated Offices Introduced A national advertising campaign introduces Steelcase Coordinated Offices (SCO). The message: Steelcase can meet all office furniture needs, including color coordination and installation. View	Products
1966	“Operation Skydrop” To demonstrate the durability of the 450 Series chair a skydiver is strapped to the chair. At 1,000 feet the skydiver disengages from the chair, which hits the ground at approximately 100 mph. The base... View	Products
1968	Mobiles Introduced Steelcase introduces the Mobiles office suite – merging Multiple 15, Sunshine Styling and Convertibles. Coupled with Movable Walls (panels that efficiently divide space for workers in an open office... View	Products
1971	Gardner Leaver Chair Introduced The guest chair designed by Gardner Leaver is introduced at the third annual NeoCon. Also designed by Leaver, are matching tea and coffee tables. View	Products
1973	Series 9000® Introduced Steelcase introduces Series 9000®, soon to become the world’s leading systems furniture line and garnering multiple awards. With the explosion of the "white collar" worker and computerized offices,... View	Products
08/05/1974	Steelcase/ Strafor S.A. Joint Venture Formed Steelcase, in a 50% joint venture agreement with Strafor-Facom (a division of Forges de Strasbourg), forms Steelcase/ Strafor S.A. This new arrangement allows for the manufacture of Steelcase chairs in... View	Company
1976	Lighting Evaluation Laboratory Opens The first Lighting Evaluation Laboratory is established by Steelcase in Grand Rapids to find ways to cut office energy costs. View	Sustainability
1977	Middle East Dealer Organization Established Steelcase is the first major U.S. office furniture manufacturer to establish an extensive dealer distribution organization in the Middle East, covering Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Jordan. View	Industry
1977	Begin Testing Speech Privacy The Acoustics Lab opens in Grand Rapids – making Steelcase the first to test speech privacy in simulated open office conditions. View	Industry
1978	First Lou Harris Study Published “The Steelcase National Study of Office Environments: Do They Work?“ summarizes the results of a first-ever Louis Harris & Associates Inc. study commissioned by Steelcase on the effects of the... View	Industry
1980	Pohlschröder Joint Venture Formed in Germany We begin a joint venture with Pohlschröder GmbH KG in Dortmund, West Germany. Pohlschröder began manufacturing metal safes in 1855, and now focuses primarily on office furniture, while also manufacturing... View	Company
1982	Support Services Offered for Designers The Steelcase Environmental Support Services (ESS) department is established and software is developed to help position us as The Office Environment Company. The ESS Survey Analysis collects and analyzes... View	Industry
1983	National Environmental Award Our engineers pioneer a high solids paint process that earns the Company a National Environmental Industry Award for Excellence in Air Pollution Control, jointly from the President's Council on Environmental... View	Sustainability
1985	Stow & Davis Furniture Co. Acquired Steelcase acquires Stow & Davis Furniture Co., a well-respected manufacturer of wood office furniture, based in Grand Rapids, MI. The acquisition provides us with an additional 1 million square... View	Company
1986	Sensor® Chair Introduced The Sensor® chair is introduced at NeoCon. An ergonomic chair scaled in three sizes, Sensor is designed to sense and support the body’s movements. Developed in concert with West German designer Wolfgang... View	Products
1987	Meyer May House Opens Steelcase opens the fully restored Meyer May House, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to the public. Designed for Meyer S. May by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1908 and completed in 1909, the house is an outstanding... View	Communities
03/08/1990	Details® Founded Details® launches in New York City and becomes part of the Steelcase Design Partnership®. A few of the many products introduced are the Articulating Keyboard Support designed by ID Two in San Francisco,... View	Company
1993	Turnstone® Founded Turnstone® is founded as a subsidiary of Steelcase to cater to the needs of small business and home office workers. The name comes from the Ruddy Turnstone (depicted in the current logo), a small, hardworking... View	Company
12/1994 - 02/28/2014	J.P. Hackett Elected President & CEO James P. Hackett is elected President and CEO. Hackett's history with the Company includes: various sales and marketing positions (1981); regional manager in Houston, Texas (1984); director of national... View	Leadership
1996	WorkLife Center Opens in NYC The first Steelcase WorkLife Center opens on Four Columbus Circle (4CC) in New York City. The Center is devoted to helping customers address workplace issues and create environments that can help achieve... View	Company
02/18/1998	Steelcase Goes Public Steelcase becomes a publicly traded company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SCS. View	Company
12/17/1998	Werndl® Büromöbel AG Acquired Steelcase acquires Werndl® Büromöbel AG, Germany's second largest wood office furniture manufacturer. In April the following year, Steelcase will acquire the remaining 50% of Steelcase/ Strafor S.A.... View	Company
1999	Leap® Chair Introduced Leap®, a revolutionary, high-performance task chair, is introduced. Leap seating technology has 23 issued and pending patents. Because of revolutionary LiveBack® technology that separately supports the... View	Products
08/27/2001	PolyVision® Acquired Steelcase acquires PolyVision®, which allows us to offer a greater variety of visual communication tools, from standard whiteboards to fully interactive plasma displays. The acquisition also sets the... View	Company
2002	BlueSpace Developed Steelcase partners with IBM to create BlueSpace, a "smart office" that combines advanced technology, architecture, and furniture. It was designed as a "prototype of the future." View	Products
2004	Think® Chair Introduced The Think® chair is launched at NeoCon in the U.S. and at Orgatec in Germany. Marketed as "a chair with a brain and a conscience," this 99% recyclable chair is developed by a project team made up of Steelcase... View	Products
04/2006	Nurture® by Steelcase Launched Nurture® by Steelcase launches to provide user-centered solutions in healthcare. Nurture views the healthcare environment as an integral part of the healing process and provides holistic solutions that... View
06/2010	node® Chair Introduced The node® chair, a collaborative effort between IDEO and Steelcase, launches. The first product from Steelcase Education Solutions, it is an active learning classroom solution by enabling mobility and... View	Products