Kimball history

The Castleton, Indiana, store had been acquired in 1982 to use as a test market.

The company phased out organ operations in 1983, though it retained and expanded its electronic assembly business in the renamed Kimball Electronics-Jasper manufacturing facilities.

In 1985, the Kimball brand introduced workplace systems to address the growing open-plan office furniture design standards.

In 1987 this division was renamed Kimball International Transit, Inc.; the outfit operated a fleet of trucks that carried the company's products and was also licensed to carry goods for other companies.

The division, which operates a 200,000-square-foot plant in Jasper, Indiana, began producing the Cetra line of office furniture in 1988.

Merged in 1991 into Kimball Europe P.L.C., the unit makes and markets Herrburger Brooks brand piano components and office furniture for sale in the United Kingdom.

The Lodging Group was created in a 1992 merger of Kimball Healthcare Co., a manufacturer of beds, casegoods, and seating for long-term care facilities, and Kimball Hospitality Furniture, Inc., which produced beds, seating, tables, dressers, and other furniture for the lodging industry.

The plant began operations in 1994, manufacturing metal office furniture under the Harpers name.

Kimball closed its sole piano store, Wilking Music Co., in September 1995.

Kimball Electronics acquired Elmo Semiconductor Corp., based in Burbank, California, in early 1996, as well as Elmo Semiconducteurs, located near Paris.

The first collections, Cherry Falls and Oak Meadow, debuted in April 1997 and were designed by Ron Stilwell of North Carolina.

Kimball had record sales of $1.1 billion in fiscal 1999, with 70 percent of revenues deriving from its furniture segment.

In April 2000, a plant in Thailand opened.

Consolidated sales rose slightly to $1.26 billion in 2001.

It remained Kimball's, before returning to Austrian hands, when purchased by the BAWAG PSK Gruppe in 2002.

​In 2003, while remaining clearly focused on its strategic vision, Kimball International announced and executed a careful plan to exit non-core markets and to divest several unprofitable business operations.

In 2005, the company announced a business model change.

By 2006, the company had clearly sharpened its focus on two market segments: commercial office furniture and contract electronics.