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Events

1 - 50 of 198

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Date	Title	Category
03/14/1912 - 01/15/1914	A.W. Hompe Elected President Two days prior to the official founding of the Metal Office Furniture Co., Alexander W. Hompe, president of The Macey Co., is elected president and chairman of the board. He resigns in 1914, handing... View	Leadership
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
1913	Clestra Hauserman Founded Clestra Hauserman is founded by E. F. Hauserman in Cleveland, OH. This company is credited with creating the industry's first moveable partitions. Later, in the 1970s, Strafor Facom purchases Clestra Hauserman.... View	Industry
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
circa 1914	Liberty Bond Boxes Introduced Metal Office Furniture Co. begins manufacturing Liberty Bond Boxes for Swift & Company to use as a premium. After the Swift contract expires, we add the bond boxes to our regular production line,... View	Products
1914 - 1943	P.M. Wege Elected President Peter Martin Wege is elected president of Metal Office Furniture Co. (MOFC) in 1914 when MOFC separates from Macey Furniture Company. He takes the reigns from Alexander W. Hompe and will hold the position... View	Leadership
1914	Bent Steel and Resistance Welding Demonstrated A demonstration of the combination of bending steel at a right angle and resistance welding in both the Victor wastebasket and a series of file cabinets. The combination enables file cabinet drawers to... 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
1917	Servidor Company Founded The Servidor Company is incorporated. Later, Metal Office Furniture Co. will acquire Servidor and manufacture Servidors for hotel rooms, Receivadors for home deliveries, and Closidors for home closets. ... View	Industry
1918	U-Channel Invention Peter M. Wege discovers how to use U-channels to make sheet steel stronger, yet lighter, in weight. Wege and Metal Office Furniture Company receive a patent for the a manufacturing process using U-channel... View	Products
11/11/1918	End of World War I Germany signs the armistice, ending World War I on November 11, 1918. View
1919	Forges de Strasbourg Founded The French company, Forges de Strasbourg, gets its start as a tool and steel structure manufacturer. Later the company creates a division, Strafor, devoted to the production of office furniture. Strafor... View	Industry
circa 1920	Commonwealth Top Customer Metal Office Furniture Co.’s largest customer is the Commonwealth Edison Company of Chicago, which is the first large firm to standardize on our steel desk. Better known today as ComEd, Commonwealth... View	Company
circa 1921	First West Coast Sales Made In the early 1920's David D. Hunting makes the first sales on the West Coast – file cabinets and a few miscellaneous items to various stationery stores and equipment dealers. In one instance, Hunting... View	Company
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... View	Company
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
1924	Desk Strength and Durability The 621 desk is designed to be fireproof and because of our manufacturing process, is able to support up to 6,000 pounds. Steel furniture is gaining acceptance, and this is Metal Office Furniture Co.’s... View	Products
1925	Architect-Designed Office Space Dealer, E. A. Holscher hires an architect to produce more efficient layout at Missouri-Pacific Railroad offices, which reduces space utilized by 25 percent, and other orders follow. View	Industry
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... View	Company
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
1928	Victor Desk Tray Introduced The Victor desk tray, a new member to the Steelcase Business Equipment family, is introduced joining the Victor Wastebaskets and the Liberty Bond Boxes. Two sizes are available for purchase and the trays... 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
10/29/1929	“Black Tuesday” Stock Market Crash The Wall Street stock market crashes, leading the world into the Great Depression. View
1930	Acquisition of Doehler Metal Furniture Company Metal Office Furniture Co. acquires Doehler Metal Furniture Co. This acquisition enables us to remain solvent during the Depression by manufacturing metal household and hospital furniture (our first foray... 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
circa 1932	Specialty Desk Introduced The growing office industry creates new demands for worksurfaces. Metal Office Furniture Co. introduces the Burroughs machine desk, designed specifically to accommodate the Burroughs adding machine.... View	Products
1933	Employment Levels Maintained Despite Depression As Metal Office Furniture Co. sales reach their lowest point during the Depression, employees are divided into part-time groups and wages lowered to 25¢/ hour so that everyone continues to earn an income.... View	Communities
1934	Suspension File Patent Metal Office Furniture Co. patents suspension file cabinets and introduces double-wall drawers for added ease and durability. 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
1939	Industry’s First Roll-Edge Desk – 7000 Series Our 7000 Series desk is one of the industry’s first designed with a rolled edge of linoleum and stainless steel binding strip to protect the linoleum against damage from the impact of chairs. Our 7025... View	Products
1939	Our First Chairs Metal Office Furniture Co. begins chair production in a section of the Desk Plant (Plant #2). Since 1926, we had been sourcing chairs for customers; this is our first entry into the manufacture of our... 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
1943 - 1961	W.D. Idema Elected President & General Manager Walter D. Idema, one of the original founders, is elected President and General Manager of Metal Office Furniture Co., succeeding Peter M. Wege after his retirement. Idema's previous history with the Company... View	Leadership
1944	Retirement Benefits Offered Metal Office Furniture Co. offers retirement benefits to employees. Only 250 such plans exist in the United States. View	Communities
1945	First with Standard and Interchangeable Parts Metal Office Furniture Co. is the first furniture maker with a complete standardization and interchangeability of parts, allowing for more than 200 different arrangements of desks and tables. 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
04/22/1947	“Honeymoon in New York” Shuts Down the Chair Plant The Chair Plant (Plant #4) shuts down for 30 minutes to listen to newlyweds Jim and Rose Sarnicola on the “Honeymoon in New York” radio program. Jim is a welder in the Chair Plant and the couple won... View	Company
1948	Dealer Office Planning Assistance Pioneered Hunting-Roberts Co., the California distributor of Steelcase furniture, pioneers office planning, establishing a new area of dealer assistance that is soon followed by the entire industry. View	Industry
1950	25 Year Club Organized The “25 Year Club” is organized in 1950 and 56 employees join, three of whom were hired in 1912, the year we were founded. This year, nearly one out of every 12 employees becomes a member. View	Company
1950	Largest Post-War Order Mutual Life Insurance of New York places the largest post-war order to date. It includes: 1,650 desks; 3,200 chairs; 120 wardrobes; 3,300 letter trays; 1,700 wastebaskets; 420 tables; 100 bookcases; and... View	Company
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
1953	Community Chest Record Set All previous Metal Office Furniture Co. records were smashed when 87% of all employees donated to this year's Community Chest campaign, meeting 100%-plus of the goal. The Community Chest name may have... View	Communities
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... 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
1954	PolyVision® Corporation Founded PolyVision® Corporation is founded as Information Display Technology, Inc. in Suwanee, Georgia. The company changes its name to PolyVision Corporation in May 1995. In 2001, Steelcase will acquire PolyVision... View	Industry
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