HNI history

Sales from the products made from scrap in 1947 amounted to almost $20,000.

Howe had joined Home-O-Nize in 1948, as the assistant to the head of the planning division.

In 1949, Home-O-Nize signed a contract worth $450,000 with Associated Manufacturers, Inc. to produce a newly designed corn picker that attached directly to the front of a tractor.

Profitability resumed in 1952, to start more than four decades of uninterrupted profits.

In addition to its nonsuspension card files, the company began developing combination cabinets in 1953.

By 1969, net sales were $25 million.

Holga Metal Products of Van Nuys, California, was acquired in 1971, giving the company a manufacturing facility in the rapidly growing southern California region.

The acquisition of Murphy-Miller of Owensboro, Kentucky, put HON into the wood seating business in 1977.

Heatilator, the leading name in prefabricated fireplaces, became part of HON Industries in 1981.

He would later become chairman of HON after the death of Max Stanley in 1984.

By 1987, under the leadership of Chairman and President Stanley Howe, HON had become known as the most efficient producer in the industry worldwide, capable of producing a desk every minute, a file every 40 seconds, and a chair every 20 seconds.

In 1991, the company had its first decline in sales in four decades, caused by a flat growth in the office furniture industry and the lowest level of housing starts since World War II.

In 1993, the company made record investments in new product development, new capital equipment, new business ventures, and member development.

During 1996, the company purchased Heat-N-Glow Fireplace Products Inc.

During 1997, HON's sales exceeded $1 billion for the first time, proving that it was on strong financial footing.

During 2004, the company made several key acquisitions to bolster its office furniture line.

The Corporation was also recognized by IndustryWeek in 2007 as one of the 50 Best Manufacturing Companies for the fifth consecutive year.