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Events

Date Title Category Image
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...

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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...

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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...

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Products
1921

The Birth of the Brand

Turner Advertising in Chicago promotes the Steelcase® trademark to emphasize the durability of Metal Office Furniture Co. products and adds the tagline, “Found Where Business Succeeds”— an advertising...

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Company
1926 - 1958

Plant #2 is Built

The new plant (pictured in the background) is built adjacent to Terrell's Equipment Co. (later called Plant #3), with whom we had formed a partnership.  This second plant provides over 97,000 square feet...

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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...

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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
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
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
06/1972

Designs in Wood Introduced

With the purchase of Hardwood Designs in California and plans to build a wood furniture plant in North Carolina, Steelcase prepares to introduce Designs in Wood.

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Company
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,...

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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...

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Company
1983

44th Street Corporate Headquarters Opens

Steelcase's new Corporate Headquarters opens in Grand Rapids and is lauded as "a textbook example of how to organize human resources in the optimum work environment."  Located at 901 44th Street SE, the...

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Company
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...

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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...

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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...

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Communities
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...

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Company
1994

Lifetime Warranty Introduced

The new Steelcase Lifetime Warranty sets an industry standard and highlights the durability and longevity of our products.

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Industry
1996

Investment in IDEO

Steelcase makes an equity investment in IDEO, located in Palo Alto, CA. In 2007, IDEO will begin a 5-year buy-back program.

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Company
02/18/1998

Steelcase Goes Public

Steelcase becomes a publicly traded company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SCS.

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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...

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Products
2000

Steelcase University Learning Center Opens

The Steelcase University Learning Center opens. A former manufacturing site, the facility is a showcase for our products and insights about learning, collaboration and increasingly mobile work.

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Company
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...

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Company
10/2001

First U.S. LEED-Certified Manufacturing Plant Opens

Our wood facility in Caledonia, MI  opens and becomes the world's first manufacturing plant to receive LEED Certification for Environmental Excellence by the U.S. Green Building Council. Silver certification...

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Sustainability
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."

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Products
2003

Eliminating VOC Emissions

Steelcase reaches a key environmental milestone by eliminating the emission of almost all volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from its metal finishing operations based in Michigan. This is the result of...

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Sustainability
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...

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Products
03/28/2005

Consolidation Announced

As part of Steelcase's goal to build a lean, more flexible industrial system, we announce plans to consolidate West Michigan manufacturing operations on the Kentwood Complex and move toward the sale of...

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Company
2006

Steelcase International WorkL@b Opens in France

WorkL@b, the new Steelcase International Headquarters, opens in Strasbourg, France.  The facility is designed to foster innovation, support the international culture of the Company and improve employees'...

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Company
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...

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09/14/2007

Ultra Group Acquired

To help Steelcase meet the needs of our large and small customers throughout Asia, we acquire the Ultra Group, one of the leading furniture manufacturers in China. Ultra Group was founded in 1993 with...

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Company
05/2008

Coalesse Formed

Responding to blurring distinctions between office and home as places for work, Steelcase launches Coalesse, a new premium brand that provides products for work/life settings. It’s a...

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Company
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...

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Products
06/2010

EcoCradle Packaging

Steelcase begins using Ecovative Design's EcoCradle packaging, made with agricultural byproducts like seed hulls and mushroom roots, EcoCradle requires very little energy to produce and it provides the...

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Sustainability

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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