Steelcase

It all started with a wastebasket. Founded as the Metal Office Furniture Company in 1912, their first patent was for “The Victor”, a fireproof wastebasket made of steel, replacing the commonly found wicker baskets that were highly flammable and posed safety issues for office workers in crowded cities (back then, smoking was common indoors). Soon after, they began to manufacture steel desks for office buildings across the United States. In 1954, the name was changed to Steelcase, as the company grew globally to promote metal office furniture over traditional wood pieces. Since then, they have been designing furniture to re-imagine the workplace and keep up with the demands of today’s office environments around the world. Steelcase focuses not only on the products themselves, but how their furniture can be laid out to create a full office space, working with architects and interior designers. Steelcase considers not only the large, corporate office space, but also specialized working environments as well, like the home office, with their line of furniture, Turnstone, and the health care industry, with Nurture (today, Steelcase Health). One of Steelcase’s most noteworthy products is the Leap Chair, first produced in 1999. This ergonomic office chair can be adjusted in one place to fit not only your height, but in eight, including seat depth and lumbar support. Of course, one of the most important things in an office is function and durability. Steelcase exceeds expectations time and time again, with practical and long-lasting pieces designed to last a while.