Steelcase

( German subsidiary )

Line

• Stephan Derr
• Manfred Scholz
• Stefan Thielmann

Steelcase is a multinational manufacturer of office furniture. The company was founded in 1912 in Grand Rapids Michigan, USA, where the corporate headquarters is located. At Steelcase Inc. Steelcase include North America, responsible for the U.S., Canada and Mexico, as well as Steelcase International, a holding company of the other countries with headquarters in Strasbourg ( France). Worldwide Steelcase has about 10,400 employees, 21 production sites and 650 dealers. 1980 Pohlschröder was purchased at 50 % of the U.S. company Steelcase Inc. of Grand Rapids and the French company Stanfor, from Strasburg. In fiscal year 2011 generated by office furniture manufacturer, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 1998, a turnover of 2.9 billion U.S. dollars. IDEO, a global design studio, is a subsidiary of Steelcase.

Steelcase Werndl AG

As part of the International Steelcase Steelcase Werndl AG is responsible for the countries Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It was formed in 1998 from the acquisition of werndl Office Furniture Ltd, founded in 1895 in Rosenheim. The Germany - Central and one of the manufacturing facilities are located in Rosenheim ( Bavaria). Second production site is Durlangen (Baden- Württemberg). At both sites in Germany a total of 656 employees. The German subsidiary generated a turnover of 191 million euros in fiscal 2012. In October 2013, the Company announced to want to completely close the site Durlangen until the spring of 2015 and transfer production to the Czech Republic.

Research

Together with partners, research institutions and universities such as Harvard or Stanford University, the Royal College of Arts, the Fraunhofer Institute or the University of Munich is researching Steelcase how people work and how they can be doing best supported. This user-driven approach is also known under the term user-centered design and user-centered design.

Sustainability

The commitment to sustainable practices in product development and production began at Steelcase in 1960 with the recycling. For decades, the company manufactures products that guarantee the preservation of nature in its originality: through life cycle analyzes, appropriate certifications and production according to the " cradle-to -cradle principle." Many international environmental and innovation awards are testimony to the commitment since the early sixties.

Awards

For its products Steelcase received in recent years include the following awards:

• Red dot design award
• Focus Green Award
• IF Design Award
• AIT Innovation Award