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Events

Date Title Category Image
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...

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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...

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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,...

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Products
1954

First to Add Typewriter Auxiliary Unit

Metal Office Furniture Co. is the first to replace the standard box drawer for the typewriter with an auxiliary table or shelf. The 41-ATT and 41-TS auxiliary units attach to pedestal desk, and are designed...

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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...

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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...

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Company
1955

Jewel Tea Desk: A First

Steelcase creates the Jewel Tea Desk in a collaboration with Harper Richards and A. Epstein & Sons for the new Jewel Tea Building. It's the first straight-line, contemporary metal desk to have wood...

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Products
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...

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Products
12/13/1957

Move to 36th Street

The demand for our office furniture led us to outgrow many of our aging facilities.  Land was purchased on 36th Street in Grand Rapids, MI in the mid 50's. The Shearing Plant is the first building to...

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Company
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....

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Products
03/1959

Electrical Connections in Desks Introduced

Steelcase introduces back panels for desks that include an apparatus board for electrical and telephone connections. Our Swingstallation back panel allows for easy access to the apparatus board.

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Products
04/1959

Growing Home Office Market

The Office at Home is a growing phenomenon and a potential market for Steelcase dealers.  Before the advent of the personal computer and fax machine, the home office was used mostly by heads of household...

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Industry
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...

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Products
07/1961

Acrylic Paints Introduced

Steelcase begins to use acrylic paints on products, a first within the industry. A water-based paint, acrylic is more environmentally friendly than the oil-based paints previously used on our lines.

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Sustainability
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'...

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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.

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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...

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Products
1968

World’s Largest Manufacturer

Steelcase is designated the world’s largest manufacturer of office furniture.

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Industry
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...

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Products

1955

Available in the Archives

    If you are a Steelcase Employee addition information is available at FactFile. For more information contact archives@steelcase.com.

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