Steelcase
 | This article as of August 2008 contains content that is written like an advertisement. |
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| Company type | Public (NYSE: SCS) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Furniture |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Headquarters |  Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA |
| Products | Leap Chair Think Chair |
| Website | www.Steelcase.com |
Steelcase (NYSE: SCS) is an international office furniture company. It was founded in 1912 in Grand Rapids, Michigan as The Metal Office Furniture Company. The company at the time specialized in mainly file cabinets and safes. Today, the company sells products related to interior architecture, furniture and technology. In 1914 The Metal Office Furniture Company received its first patent for a steel waste basket. The steel waste basket was called the Victor fireproof waste basket, an innovative product for its time. In 1954 The Metal Office Furniture Company changed its name to Steelcase.
The design consultancy company IDEO is majority-owned by Steelcase.
History
The company was founded in 1912 as The Metal Office Furniture Company, specializing at first in file cabinets and safes, and changed its name to Steelcase in 1954. Today, its portfolio spans the three core elements of an office environment: architecture, furniture and technology products. Steelcase has been a publicly-held company since 1997 but a large portion of its stock is still held by members of three founding families.
In March 2008 Steelcase announced a long-term financial commitment to a U.S. wind farm, including supporting the purchase of all the green power produced by the farm for at least the first five years of its operation. This was the first time a corporation has made an up-front commitment to purchase all of the renewable energy credits (RECs) from a U.S. wind farm in the financing stage. Experts believe that Steelcase's commitment to the wind farm will help pioneer new ways to reduce the United State's reliance on fossil fuels and shows how companies can leverage their environmental commitments to effect a massive change. [1]
In 2006 Steelcase received a MBDC Cradle to Cradle Certification for an entire powered workstation at the annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo presented by the U.S. Green Building Council. The certification marked a first in the contract furniture industry[reference: http://www.steelcase.com/na/steelcase_answer_workstation_r_News.aspx?f=21532]
In 2001, Steelcase’s wood furniture factory became the world’s first manufacturing plant to receive LEED Certification for Environmental Excellence by the U.S. Green Building Council. Steelcase has the largest portfolio of products to receive McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry’s Cradle-to-Cradle certification for sustainable products.
In 1996, Steelcase was found at fault in a patent infringement suit brought against them by Haworth, Inc., another furniture company. Steelcase was ordered to pay $211.5 million in damages and interest.[1]
References
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2007) |