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Steelcase

Steelcase Inc.
Formerly called
Metal Office Furniture Company
Public
Traded as SCS
Industry Furniture
Founded March 16, 1912 (1912-03-16) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
Founder Peter M. Wege
Headquarters Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
Number of locations
80 (2014)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
James Keane CEO
Products Office furniture, architectural and technology for office environments and the education, health care and retail industries
Revenue US$ 3.1 Billion (2015)
Number of employees
11,000 (2014)
Website steelcase.com

Steelcase is a United States-based furniture company founded in 1912 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The company produces office furniture, architectural and technology products for office environments and the education, health care and retail industries. It is the largest office furniture manufacturer in the world. It has facilities, offices, and factories in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia and Africa.

Steelcase was founded as the Metal Office Furniture Company in 1912 by Peter M. Wege in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Wege was a veteran of the sheet metal and fireproofing industry and had filed approximately 25 patents prior to starting the company. The Metal Office Furniture Company's first products included fireproof metal safes and four-drawer filing cabinets, which Wege invented and manufactured for the Macey Company.

In 1914, the company received its first product patent for "The Victor," a fireproof steel wastebasket. The Victor gained popularity due to its light weight—achieved through a patented process of bending flat steel at right angles to create boxes—and its ability to prevent fires at a time when smoking was common indoors, particularly in the workplace. In 1915, the company began manufacturing and distributing steel desks after designing and producing 200 for Boston's first skyscraper, the Custom House Tower. In 1937, the company collaborated with Frank Lloyd Wright on office furniture for the Johnson Wax Headquarters. The partnership lasted two years and resulted in some of the first modern workstations.

The name Steelcase was a result of an advertising campaign to promote metal office furniture over wood and was trademarked in 1921. The company officially changed its name to Steelcase, Inc. in 1954.

The company became known as the leader of the furniture industry in the late 1960s due to the volume of its sales. Steelcase expanded into new markets during the 1970s, including Asia, Europe, and North Africa. In 1973, the company debuted the Series 9000 furniture line, an office system that became a best seller and the company's flagship brand. That same year, the company delivered the largest single furniture shipment to the then-new Sears Tower. The delivery included 43,565 pieces of furniture and furnished 44 floors.


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