The story
Originally known as the Metal Office Furniture Company, it was founded in 1912 by Peter Martin Wege, who had filed approximately 25 patents related to the sheet metal and fireproofing industries. Its early products included fireproof metal safes and four-drawer metal filing cabinets.
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.
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.
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.
After becoming one of the leading companies in the office furniture industry during the previous decade due to its sales volume, it expanded into new markets during the 1970s, including Asia, Europe, and North Africa. In 1973, it debuted the Series 9000 furniture line, a panel-based office system that became a best seller and its flagship brand.
Also in 1973, Steelcase delivered the largest single furniture shipment to the then-new Sears Tower; the delivery included 43,565 pieces of furniture and furnished 44 floors.
In 1996, Steelcase became the majority shareholder of the design firm IDEO, whose CEO, David M. Kelley, was appointed vice president of technical discovery and innovation by the new owner.
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Meanwhile, it was found at fault in a patent infringement suit brought against them by Haworth, another furniture company. The Michigan firm was ordered to pay $211.5 million in damages and interest, thus ending a 17-year dispute with Haworth.
Steelcase became a publicly traded company in 1998 under the symbol SCS. During the 2000s, Steelcase reorganized its workforce and began integrating modern technologies in its products. In 2000, the company opened Steelcase University, a center for ongoing employee development and learning.
Steelcase's wood furniture plant in Caledonia, MI earned LEED certification in 2001, becoming the first plant to receive the certification. In 2002, Steelcase partnered with IBM to create BlueSpace, a "smart office" prototype designed using new office technologies.
In 2010, after selling back its shares in IDEO to its managers, in a process initiated three years earlier, Steelcase and its former subsidiary launched new models for higher education classrooms called LearnLabs.
In January 2016, it recalled 12 models of Steelcase "Rocky" style swivel chairs manufactured between 2005 and 2015, due to a fall hazard. In 2025, HNI Corporation announced it would acquire Steelcase for $2.2 billion. The acquisition closed in December 2025.
Steelcase Inc. Corporate Development Center
In 1989, the company opened the pyramid-shaped Steelcase Inc. Corporate Development Center, containing ten research laboratories and workspaces meant to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration on product development. After being left vacant in 2010, the building was sold to Switch, Inc. six years later.
From Wikipedia’s article on Steelcase, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.8