Haworth, Inc
Company History
The company began in 1948 as Modern Products. In 1954, the focus of Modern
Products shifted toward office environments, in response to the development of
modular office partitions. To reflect this new focus, the company changed its
name to Modern Partitions[1]
In 1976 the company took its current name, Haworth, and the company began
focusing exclusively on office furniture systems.
1948 >> Modern Products Driven by his dream
to start a business, school teacher Gerrard Wendell (G.W.) Haworth borrows
$10,000 of his parents' life savings to expand a woodworking operation in his
family's garage. A skilled craftsman, he builds a variety of products, hoping to
earn enough money to put his children through college. Modern Products is born.
In the early 1980s, when office seating was added to Haworth product offering
being built at the Allegan, Michigan Haworth Plant, the company continued its
movement toward providing complete workspace solutions. Later in the 1980s,
Haworth pursued an aggressive expansion in North America, Europe, and Asia.
During the next two decades, Haworth developed several industry firsts — from
the first mobile office system to panel-to-panel cabling systems. Haworth also
earned awards for its business and design practices, such as environmental
sustainability, leadership, community service, and member job satisfaction.
In 1996 competitor Steelcase was found at fault in a patent infringement suit
brought by Haworth in 1985. Steelcase was ordered to pay $211.5 million in
damages and interest.[2]
Haworth reached $1 billion in annual revenue in 1994, and passed the $2 billion
mark in 2000. In January of that year, Haworth purchased SMED of Calgary.[3]
In September, 2003, Haworth acquired Interface AR of Grand Rapids, Michigan.[4]
The acquisitions of SMED and InterfaceAR further strengthened Haworth’s
workspace solutions.
Ownership
Haworth, Inc. is a privately held, family-owned corporation. Based on estimated
sales, Haworth is the second largest manufacturer of office furniture behind