Miller's Office Furniture history

1909 Star Furniture Company is renamed Michigan Star Furniture Company.

1919 D.J. De Pree is named president of Michigan Star Furniture Company.

Grand Rapids free-lance designers Edgar Somes and Aurelio Bevelaqua created many of the Herman Miller Furniture Co.’s period revival residential designs in the 1920s.

Herman Miller was a West Michigan businessman who helped his son-in-law, D.J. De Pree, buy the Michigan Star Furniture Company in 1923.

After seeing an exhibition of French Modern furniture, DePree was inspired to produce his own version in 1927.

1930 Herman Miller, like many companies, faces failure amid the turmoil of the Great Depression.

In 1931, New York designer Gilbert Rohde visited Herman Miller’s Grand Rapids showroom, and sold D.J. DePree on the idea of switching the company’s design emphasis to Modernism.

Herman Miller’s Modern furniture by Rohde debuted at the Chicago Century of Progress exhibition in 1933.

In 1936 the logo changed to all upper-case letters with the words “HERMAN MILLER” printed above and twice as large as ”FURNITURE COMPANY” below.

1937 D.J. De Pree turns the Herman Miller Clock Company over to his brother-in-law, Howard Miller, who renames it the Howard Miller Clock Company.

By 1939 Rohde had begun to turn his attention to designing modern furniture for offices that matched the architecture of modern office buildings.

In 1942 the company introduced its first office furniture, the modular Executive Office Group system, or EOG. The EOG utilized a minimum of components, which could be configured in a variety of ways to create individualize workstations.

Rohde became the company’s design leader until his death in 1944.

Rohde’s Modern design leadership was succeeded by George Nelson in 1945.

In 1946 Charles and Ray Eames designed the award-winning molded plywood chairs, sometimes know by their nickname “potato chip chairs,” for affordability and mass production.

Sculptor Isamu Noguchi designed his famous wood and glass-topped coffee table for Herman Miller in 1947.

1948 Herman Miller publishes and sells a bound, hardcover product catalog, written by George Nelson and designed by the Nelson Office.

Manufacture of these chairs was done by Evans Manufacturing until 1949, when Herman Miller assumed production.

In 1950 he changed the company’s management by adopting the Scanlon Plan, still an important part of Herman Miller’s corporate culture.

1951 Herman Miller begins its long association with Alexander Girard, noted colorist and textile designer.

In 1952 he was made head of the newly formed Herman Miller Textile Division.

1953 Girard wallpapers and the Eames Hang-It-All are introduced.

1954 Nelson pedestal tables and the Eames sofa compact are introduced.

1955 Eames storage units are discontinued.

In 1956 the leather and molded veneer “Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman” were introduced live, on national television.

1957: Herman Miller begins sales in Europe.

The first of a number of seating lines designed by Eames and using tension-stretched fabrics on aluminum frames debuted in 1958.

1959 Nelson's Comprehensive Storage System, which uses vertical space to free up living space, is introduced.

1960: Company incorporates and changes its name to Herman Miller, Inc.

In 1961 he began scientific studies of human performance in the office environment.

1962 Hugh De Pree, son of D.J., assumes leadership of Herman Miller, Inc., as president and chief executive officer.

1964 Bob Propst and George Nelson work together on the first prototypes of Action Office 1, a group of freestanding units that will evolve into the Action Office system.

1966 With nearly 150 dealers, Herman Miller has expanded its presence to Central and South America, Australia, Canada, Europe, Africa, the Near East, Scandinavia, and Japan.

In 1968 “Action Office II” was launched, by hanging work surfaces, storage compartments, and other components from open plan panels.

1969 D.J. De Pree steps down as chairman of the board.

1970: First offering of company stock to the general public.

The “Coherent Structures,” or “Co/Struc System,” also developed based on Propst’s research, was first marketed in 1971 for use in hospitals and other health and science settings.

1973 Eames soft pad lounge chairs, executive tables, and segmented base rectangular tables are introduced.

A modular seating group know as "Chadwick Seating" was designed by Don Chadwick and introduced in 1974.

It will be sold until 1975.

1976: Star Industries, later called Integrated Metal Technology, becomes a wholly owned Herman Miller subsidiary.

The EOG was updated a number of times by George Nelson, and remained in production until 1978.

1979 Herman Miller opens the Facility Management Institute in Ann Arbor, Michigan, helping establish the profession of facility management.

1980 A new Holland seating plant is built.

1981 Burdick Group is introduced.

1983 A special stock-ownership plan establishes all Herman Miller employees as shareholders.

The 1984 “Ethospace Interiors,” designed by Bill Stumpf and Jack Kelley, was based on tiles of fabric, wood, laminate, window glass, bulletin board, and other materials hung on frames, rather than panels.

1985: Company’s Health Science Division becomes a wholly owned subsidiary known as Milcare.

1986 George Nelson dies.

In 1989 a consortium of fourteen American Museums was formed to receive more than five hundred pieces of Herman Miller furniture.

The 1990 “Relay” office furniture system of Geoff Hollington was designed for use by people who work together in groups.

World's Largest Office Chair, 1991.

In 1992 Kerm Campbell became the company’s 5th CEO and president, and the first from outside the company to assume those positions.

1993 Herman Miller becomes a founding member of the United States Green Building Council, the only office furniture manufacturer on the original roster.

The "Aeron Chair," introduced in 1994, was produced in multiple sizes to fit the demographics of office workers.

In 1995 Mike Volkema became CEO and president.

1996 The new Miller SQA ("simple, quick, affordable") manufacturing and office building begins operations.

1997 Herman Miller and Geiger Brickel, a high-quality wood casegoods and seating manufacturer headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, enter a strategic sales alliance.

They will be reintroduced in 1998.

It will be reintroduced in 1999.

For the fifth year in a row, Herman Miller ranks among Business Ethics magazine's "100 Best Corporate Citizens"--one of only 29 companies to earn a place on the list every year since its introduction in 2000.

2001 Herman Miller Resolve system is added to the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection, and to the collection of the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

2003 Herman Miller introduces Mirra, a high-performing, environmentally advanced work chair and the first piece of office furniture to be developed from its inception according to cradle-to-cradle principles.

2006 Herman Miller introduces Leaf personal light, an energy efficient LED (light-emitting diode) table-top light.

2008 Herman Miller acquires Brandrud Furniture, Inc., a Seattle-based manufacturer of healthcare furnishings.

2010 Herman Miller introduces the Sayl chair designed by Yves Béhar.

2012 Herman Miller relaunches the Herman Miller Collection, a comprehensive new portfolio of authentic modern designs that lets you select, furnish, and create complete environments in a variety of settings—from the boardroom to the backyard.

2014 Herman Miller announces Earthright, a new sustainability strategy that builds on more than 50 years of environmental learning and commitment.