timeline.steelcase.comArchive

Toggle navigation Heritage Advanced SearchEmployee Login Our Story Our story began with a simple innovation, a fireproof metal wastebasket for offices. Looking back, it’s clear our company has always been about looking forward. Our past, present and future are all about turning insights into innovations that unlock the promise of people at work and make the world a better place. So now step back in time. Discover the many turning points in our history that together reveal the bigger picture of who we are and where we’re headed. Our story, our future, is just beginning.Innovating office environments for over 112 years Filter by: All Company Leadership Products People + Planet Industry 1910 December 23, 1913 US Federal Reserve Established July 28, 1914 World War I Begins March 19, 1918 Time Zones are Established November 11, 1918 End of World War I March 14, 1912 A.W. Hompe Elected President March 16, 1912 MOFC Incorporated March 17, 1912 First Products Manufactured for Macey 1913 Clestra Hauserman Founded 1914 Victor Wastebasket Introduced 1914 Liberty Bond Boxes Introduced 1914 Bent Steel and Resistance Welding Demonstrated 1914 Second Product Line Introduced January 15, 1914 P.M. Wege Elected President 1915 First Desk Sale 1917 Servidor Company Founded 1918 U-Channel Invention 1919 Forges de Strasbourg Founded More 1920 January 17, 1920 Prohibition Ban Begins January 25, 1924 First Winter Olympic Games held in France October 29, 1929 Black Tuesday” Stock Market Crash 1920 Commonwealth Top Customer 1921 First West Coast Sales Made 1921 The Birth of the Brand 1922 Dealer Network Launched 1924 Desk Strength and Durability 1925 Architect-Designed Office Space 1926 Plant #2 is Built 1927 On Board with Lucky Lindy 1928 Victor Desk Tray Introduced November 26, 1928 Entrance into the International Market More 1930 February 18, 1930 Pluto is discovered by US Astronomer May 1934 Dust Storms Spread from the Dust Bowl Area November 2, 1936 The BBC Television Service Launches 1930 Acquisition of Doehler Metal Furniture Company 1932 Century of Progress” Desk 1932 Production of Vegetable Spray Units 1932 Specialty Desk Introduced 1933 Employment Levels Maintained Despite Depression 1934 Suspension File Patent December 23, 1936 Terrell’s Equipment Stock Purchased 1937 Furniture for S.C. Johnson Wax Building 1939 Industry’s First Roll-Edge Desk - 7000 Series 1939 Our First Chairs More 1940 1941 Steel Rationed (WWII) January 10, 1946 First Meeting of the United Nations April 4, 1949 NATO, the North American Treaty Organization, is Formed 1942 Naval Contracts Won March 1, 1943 W.D. Idema Elected President & General Manager 1944 Retirement Benefits Offered 1945 First with Standard and Interchangeable Parts 1946 Multiple 15 Desk Introduced April 22, 1947 Honeymoon in New York” Shuts Down the Chair Plant 1948 Dealer Office Planning Assistance Pioneered More 1950 June 25, 1950 Korean War Begins November 1, 1955 Vietnam War Begins April 25, 1959 The St. Lawrence Seaway opens along Canada and the US 1950 25 Year Club Organized 1950 Largest Post-War Order December 27, 1951 Steelcase Foundation Formed 1952 Convertibles Introduced 1953 Sunshine Styling Color an Industry First 1953 Community Chest Record Set 1954 First to Add Typewriter Auxiliary Unit 1954 Steelcase Canada Ltd. Founded 1954 PolyVision® Corporation Founded December 1, 1954 Company Name Change: Steelcase Inc. 1955 Jewel Tea Desk: A First 1956 Flight Line Desks for the Office of the Future 1957 U of M Custom Library Furniture Produced December 13, 1957 Move to 36th Street 1958 1300 Line Desks Introduced 1958 Steelcase Sponsors Junior Achievement 1959 Vecta Contract Inc. Founded March 1959 Electrical Connections in Desks Introduced April 1959 Growing Home Office Market More 1960 August 13, 1961 Construction of the Berlin Wall Begins October 14, 1962 The Cuban Missile Crisis Begins July 20, 1969 The Apollo Program Completes its Mission - First Man Walks on the Moon November 21, 1969 The Internet is Invented 1960 2200 Line Desks Introduced September 1, 1960 Original Factory Donated to The Salvation Army 1961 DesignTex® Founded March 1, 1961 W.C. Davis Elected President July 1961 Acrylic Paints Introduced September 13, 1961 Datacase Introduced 1962 50th Anniversary Celebration 1963 Steelcase Coordinated Offices Introduced 1964 Attwood Corp. Acquired 1964 Steelcase Inc., California Founded 1966 "Operation Skydrop" May 7, 1966 R.C. Pew Elected President & CEO October 3, 1966 Broadsides Lateral Files Introduced 1968 World’s Largest Manufacturer 1968 Mobiles Introduced 1968 First NeoCon 1969 First Environmental Engineer Hired More 1970 1973 First Cell Phone October 1973 Oil Embargo Begins April 30, 1975 Vietnam War Ends September 1975 IBM 1500 PC 1970 Steelcase Canada, Ltd. Expands 1971 Gardner Leaver Chair and Side Table Introduced 1971 Fabric Cutting Technology Better for the Environment May 1971 Word Processing Center Opens June 1972 Designs in Wood Introduced 1973 Series 9000® Introduced June 15, 1973 Sears Tower Installation June 19, 1974 430 Chair Introduced August 5, 1974 Steelcase/ Strafor S.A. Joint Venture Formed 1975 Paperflo® Introduced 1976 Lighting Evaluation Laboratory Opens 1976 Top Companies Standardize on Steelcase 1977 President Ford Speaks at United Way Luncheon 1977 Middle East Dealer Organization Established 1977 Begin Testing Speech Privacy 1978 Opinion Surveys on Office Environments Conducted 1978 First Lou Harris Study Published 1978 Spectrum Logo Introduced June 1978 Acquisition of Vecta® 1979 Tech Center Opens 1979 Began Converting Paint to High-solids More 1980 1980 Beginning of the Information Age 1989 World Wide Web November 9, 1989 The Fall of the Berlin Wall 1980 Pohlschröder Joint Venture Formed in Germany 1980 Waste to Energy Facility 1983 44th Street Corporate Headquarters Opens 1983 National Environmental Award 1985 Stow & Davis Furniture Co. Acquired 1985 Steelcase Joins Corporate Angel Network 1986 Sensor® Chair Introduced 1987 Meyer May House Opens 1987 Steelcase Inc. Turns 75 June 1987 Steelcase Design Partnership® Forms 1988 $1 Million Gifted to GR Public Museum 1988 Economicology: The Eleventh Commandment November 1, 1988 F.H. Merlotti Elected President & CEO 1989 Context® Introduced 1989 Environmental Excellence Award 1989 CDC Opens: Context® Furniture Installed More 1990 August 2, 1990 Persian Gulf War Begins November 20, 1993 NAFTA Passes the Senate January 1, 1995 World Trade Organization Founded March 8, 1990 Details® Founded December 3, 1990 J.K. Myers Elected President & CEO 1991 Global Presence Expanded 1991 Details® "Wastebasket" Introduced 1991 First to Filter Effluent from Paint Tanks 1992 Furniture in 48 Hours Available 1993 Turnstone® Founded 1993 Replacing Non-Electrostatic Paint Applicators 1994 Lifetime Warranty Introduced 1994 Adopted the Montreal Protocol July 19, 1994 F.H. Merlotti Elected Interim President 1995 "Rooms That Work" Introduced 1995 Middle East Production Begins 1995 Personal Harbor Wins IDEA Gold Award 1995 Joined Air and Waste Management Association March 22, 1995 J.P. Hackett Elected President & CEO December 1995 Leadership Community Opens 1996 WorkLife Center Opens in NYC 1996 Investment in IDEO 1996 Criterion® is the Best Selling Chair May 1996 TNT™ Furniture System Introduced 1997 Zinc Plating Process Replaced 1997 Zinc Plating Removal Initiative February 18, 1998 Steelcase Goes Public March 11, 1998 Pathways® Introduced December 17, 1998 Werndl® Büromöbel AG Acquired 1999 Please Is Europe’s Best-Selling Office Chair 1999 Leap® Chair Introduced 1999 Successful Mentoring Program Expands 1999 Awarded for Waste Reduction More 2000 September 11, 2001 9/11 2003 NAFTA and WTO Policies Implemented, Eliminating Trade Barriers March 19, 2003 Invasion of Iraq 2000 Steelcase University Learning Center Opens 2000 DesignTex® Technology Wins Awards 2000 New Corporate Identity Introduced 2000 E-Commerce Sales First Offered April 2000 End of an Era: 454...