Herman Miller (manufacturer)

Last updated
Herman Miller, Inc.
Type Public
Nasdaq:  MLHR
S&P 400 Component
IndustryFurniture manufacturing
Office and home furnishings retailer
Predecessor
  • Star Furniture Co.
  • Michigan Star Furniture Co.
  • Herman Miller Furniture Company
Founded1905;116 years ago (1905) (as Star Furniture Co.)
Founder D. J. De Pree
Headquarters,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Revenue$2.1 billion (2015)
$163.4 million (2015)
$98.1 million (2015)
Number of employees
8,000 [1]
Subsidiaries Design Within Reach
Maharam
Knoll
Website hermanmiller.com

Herman Miller, Inc. is an American company that produces office furniture, equipment, and home furnishings. Its products include the Equa chair, Aeron chair, Noguchi table, Marshmallow sofa, and the Eames Lounge Chair. Herman Miller is credited with the invention of the office cubicle (originally known as the "Action Office") in 1968 under then-director of research Robert Propst. [2] [3]

Contents

History

A typical distribution depot, in Chippenham, Wiltshire. HermanMillerChippenham.jpg
A typical distribution depot, in Chippenham, Wiltshire.

Herman Miller was founded in 1905 as the Star Furniture Co. Initially the company produced furniture, especially bedroom suites, in historic revival styles. [3] In 1909, Dirk Jan De Pree began working for the company as a clerk, and became its president by 1919, when it was renamed the Michigan Star Furniture Co. [3] De Pree and his father-in-law, Herman Miller, purchased 51% of the company stock in 1923 and renamed it the Herman Miller Furniture Company. [4] The company reformed as Herman Miller, Inc. in 1960. [3]

Until 1930, the company produced only traditional wood furniture. [3] With the coming of the Great Depression the company was forced to explore new products to survive in a shrinking market [3] and reluctantly hired Gilbert Rohde, a designer who specialized in modernist designs. [3] [4] Rohde turned the company in a new direction and in 1933, Herman Miller debuted a line of modern furniture at the Century of Progress exposition in Chicago, Illinois. [3] [4] In 1941, the company opened a showroom in the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, and another in New York City. Under Rohde's supervision Herman Miller entered the contract (office) furniture market in 1942, with the introduction of the "Modular Executive Office" Group (EOG), the first in a long line of office furnishings to be produced by the company. [3]

Rohde died in 1944 [4] and was replaced by architect George Nelson, who joined the firm as director of design in 1945. [3] Over the next four decades Nelson influenced Herman Miller through both his personal designs and the designers that he recruited, including; Isamu Noguchi, Charles and Ray Eames, Robert Propst, and textile designer Alexander Girard. [3] Beginning in the late 1940s, the period under Nelson's guidance saw Herman Miller produce some of the company's most recognizable pieces of furniture, including the Noguchi table , Eames Lounge Chair , Marshmallow sofa , Ball clock (actually produced by Howard Miller Clock Company), and the Sling sofa. [3]

Dirk Jan De Pree continued to serve as Herman Miller CEO until 1961 when he was forced by illness to step down. He was succeeded by his son, Hugh De Pree. Hugh served as company CEO until the mid-1980s when he was succeeded by his brother Max De Pree, who held the position until 1990. [3]

In 1961, Herman Miller set up the Herman Miller Research Division, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. [3] This division developed the "Action Office" line in 1964 under the supervision of Robert Propst and with the design assistance of George Nelson's New York design studio. [3] Though the initial line, known as "Action Office I", was not a success, it led Propst to develop the "Action Office II" line, which introduced the "Office cubicle". [3] The impact of Action Office II on the workplace revolutionized the office environment. In 1978, Action Office II was renamed simply "Action Office". Herman Miller's line of Action Office products generated sales of over $5 billion as of 1998. [3]

George Nelson's influence at Herman Miller gradually declined during the 1970s as new designers joined the company, including Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf, who co-designed the Equa chair (still widely marketed) and in the 1990s developed the highly-successful Aeron chair. In 1981, Herman Miller started to work with the Italian designer Clino T. Castelli on the process of designing physical environments: a so-called Design Primario [3] [5] including CMF Design and Ethospace design concept. [6] Designer Tom Newhouse introduced the "Newhouse Group" of free-standing furniture in 1987, and assisted with the "Ethospace" wall panel system for the Action Office line. Ray Wilkes designed the "Modular Seating Group", popularly known as the Chicklet Chairs. [3]

Artist Stephen Frykholm is also noted for his contributions to Herman Miller. From 1970 to 1989, Frykholm produced a series of promotional posters for Herman Miller's annual summer picnics, some of which are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, and remain highly sought-after art prints. [3]

In 2010, the firm acquired Colebrook Bosson Saunders, a company that designs and manufactures ergonomic furniture. [7]

The acquisition of Knoll by Herman Miller was announced in April 2021 in a $1.8 billion deal. The merger is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021. [8]

In November of 2021, the company rebranded as MillerKnoll and announced it was relocating its headquarters to Stamford, Connecticut. [9]

Workplace

According to CNN Money, as of March 2011, Herman Miller was ranked as the second most admired company in the Home Equipment, Furnishing division. They also scored first in Innovation, People Management, Use of Corporate Assets, Social Responsibility, and Quality of Products/Services. In Quality of Management, they scored second place, third in Long Term Investments, fourth in Financial Soundness, and ninth in Global Competitiveness. [10]

In March 2008, they settled an antitrust lawsuit with the states of New York, Michigan, and Illinois for $750,000. [11] The lawsuit focused on Herman Miller's use of a suggested retail pricing policy, which was found to be within the bounds of the law. Today, many companies employ such policies to avoid price erosion in the internet channel.

Sustainability

Herman Miller has engaged in a number of initiatives to promote sustainability, and many of them have had cost-saving implications for the company. The company has developed a technique of mixing sawdust with chicken manure to produce topsoil. The company also uses a database to track every chemical in each product used by the company, in order to eliminate harmful chemicals from their products. Management of the company has expressed concerns about global warming, and the company was using 27% renewable energy as of 2007. The company also issues a sustainability report. [12]

Herman Miller calls its driving sustainability initiative "Perfect Vision" and it put the strategy in place in 2004. [13] This is a broad initiative that sets significant targets for the year 2020. These targets include zero landfill disposal, zero hazardous waste generation, zero air emissions (VOCs), zero process water discharge, 100% green electrical energy use, company buildings constructed to a minimum LEED Silver certification, and 100% of sales from DfE-approved[ clarification needed ] products. [14]

Herman Miller helped fund the start of the United States Green Building Council, and hired architect William McDonough + Partners to design a factory incorporating green design principles. [15] The building is known as the "Greenhouse", and is an example of green building. The building won the following awards:

Notable products

The Aeron chair Aeron chair JN.jpg
The Aeron chair

Seating

Tables/desks

Related Research Articles

Aeron chair Office chair designed by Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf

The Aeron chair is an office chair sold by Herman Miller, first released in 1994. In 2010, it was called "America's best-selling chair". It is featured in the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection. It was designed by Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf and has received numerous accolades for its industrial design.

Cubicle Office furniture meant to allow for concentration

A cubicle is a partially enclosed office workspace that is separated from neighboring workspaces by partitions that are usually 5–6 feet (1.5–1.8 m) tall. Its purpose is to isolate office workers and managers from the sights and noises of an open workspace so that they may concentrate with fewer distractions. Cubicles are composed of modular elements such as walls, work surfaces, overhead bins, drawers, and shelving, which can be configured depending on the user's needs. Installation is generally performed by trained personnel, although some cubicles allow configuration changes to be performed by users without specific training.

George Nelson (designer) American industrial designer

George Nelson (1908–1986) was an American industrial designer. While lead designer for the Herman Miller furniture company, Nelson and his design studio, George Nelson Associates, designed 20th-century modernist furniture. He is considered a founder of American modernist design.

Eames Lounge Chair Chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames

The Eames Lounge Chair and ottoman are furnishings made of molded plywood and leather, designed by Charles and Ray Eames for the Herman Miller furniture company. They are officially titled Eames Lounge (670) and Ottoman (671) and were released in 1956 after years of development by designers. It was the first chair that the Eameses designed for a high-end market. Examples of these furnishings are part of the permanent collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art.

William Eugene Stumpf was a designer for Herman Miller who helped design the Aeron, Embody and Ergon chairs.

Robert Propst (1921–2000) was an American inventor. He was the inventor of the Action Office that evolved into the cubicle office furniture system.

The Action Office is a series of furniture designed by Robert Propst, and manufactured and marketed by Herman Miller. First introduced in 1964 as the Action Office I product line, then superseded by the Action Office II series, it is an influential design in the history of "contract furniture". The Action Office II series introduced the concept of the flexible, semi-enclosed workspaces, now better known as the cubicle. All cubicle office designs can be traced back to Herman Miller's Action Office product lines.

Alexander Girard American architect and designer

Alexander Girard, affectionately known as Sandro, was an architect, interior designer, furniture designer, industrial designer, and a textile designer.

Knoll (company) American design firm that produces office systems

Knoll, Inc., is an American design firm that produces office systems, seating, files and storage, tables and desks, textiles (KnollTextiles), and accessories for the office, home, and higher education settings. The company manufactures furniture for the home by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Harry Bertoia, Florence Knoll, Frank Gehry, Charles Gwathmey, Maya Lin and Eero Saarinen under the company's KnollStudio division. Over 40 Knoll designs can be found in the permanent design collection of The Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Eames Lounge Chair Wood

The Eames Lounge Chair Wood (LCW) is a low seated easy chair designed by husband and wife team Charles and Ray Eames.

Ray Eames American artist, designer, and filmmaker

Ray-Bernice Alexandra Kaiser Eames was an American artist and designer who worked in a variety of media.

Charles and Ray Eames

Charles Ormond Eames, Jr. (1907–1978) and Bernice Alexandra "Ray" Kaiser Eames (1912–1988) were an American married couple of industrial designers who made significant historical contributions to the development of modern architecture and furniture through the work of the Eames Office. They also worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art, and film. Charles was the public face of the Eames Office, but Ray and Charles worked together as creative partners and employed a diverse creative staff. Among their most recognized designs is the Eames Lounge Chair and the Eames Dining Chair.

Donald "Don" T. Chadwick is an American industrial designer specializing in office seating.

Gilbert Rohde (1894–1944), whose career as a furniture and industrial designer helped to define American modernism during its first phase from the late 1920s to World War II, is best known today for inaugurating modern design at Herman Miller Inc.

The Eames Aluminum Group series is a line of furniture designed by Charles and Ray Eames. While the furniture, particularly the task chair, is an icon of office furniture, it was originally commissioned as outdoor seating for the home of J. Irwin Miller by Eero Saarinen and Alexander Girard. The original design featured a woven suspension back and seat stretched between aluminum ribs.

Marshmallow sofa Sofa designed by Irving Harper

Marshmallow Love Seat #5670, commonly known as the Marshmallow sofa, is a modernist sofa produced by the American furniture company Herman Miller, that was originally manufactured between 1956 and 1961. It is considered the most iconic of all modernist sofas. The sofa was designed by Irving Harper of George Nelson Associates. It was produced in two lengths from 1956 to 1961. It consists of a metal frame with round discs of covered foam, or "marshmallows", spread across the seat and back in a lattice arrangement.

Irving Harper was an American industrial designer. While working for George Nelson Associates, Inc. on designs for Herman Miller furniture, Harper became one of the most prolific designers of the modernist style. Among his important designs is the Herman Miller company logo, and the company's Marshmallow sofa.

Don Charles Albinson was an American industrial designer who made many contributions to the world of furniture. He worked with Charles and Ray Eames for 13 years, helping develop many of the seminal Herman Miller furniture pieces from the mid century – the bent plywood chair, the fiberglass shell chair, the aluminum group set, and the Eames Lounge chair, to name a few. He later developed the Knoll Stack chair, the Westinghouse office line, an update to the DoMore Series 7 landscape system named Neo 7, the Albi stack chair for Fixtures, and the Bounce chair for Stylex.

Hume Modern is an American furniture restoration specialist. It is known for preserving items by Charles and Ray Eames, Florence Knoll, Eero Saarinen and other manufacturers of the American and European mid-century modern period. The company received plaudits in the wake of Hurricane Sandy for restoring items damaged by the New York/New Jersey seaboard. Hume Modern also restores pieces by Harry Bertoia, Warren Platner, George Nelson, Richard Schultz, Marcel Breuer, Frank Gehry, Mies van der Rohe and Herman Miller.

Eames Fiberglass Armchair

The Eames Molded Plastic & Fiberglass Armchair is a fiberglass chair, designed by Charles and Ray Eames, that appeared on the market in 1950. The chair was intentionally designed for the ‘International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design.’ This competition, sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art, was motivated by the urgent need in the post-war period for low-cost housing and furnishing designs adaptable to small housing units.

References

  1. "Herman Miller". owler.com.
  2. Schlosser, Julie (March 22, 2006). "Cubicles: The great mistake". Fortune Magazine.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pina, Leslie (1998). Classic Herman Miller. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN   0-7643-0471-2.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "A model home for the modern era: How industrial designer Gilbert Rohde helped Herman Miller become America's top producer of modern furniture". Curbed: Longform. Curbed. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  5. Victor Margolin, Design Discourse: History, Theory, Criticism, Chicago, Illinois, University of Chicago Press, 1989
  6. Sam Hall Kaplan, West Week Spotlights Furniture, April 07, 1985, Los Angeles Times
  7. "Colebrook Bosson Saunders sold to Herman Miller". BCMS: Your M&A partner. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  8. "Furniture Maker Herman Miller to Acquire Knoll in $1.8B Deal". Dbusiness Magazine. Detroit Business. April 19, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  9. Zimmerman, Kevin (2021-11-04). "Design company collective MillerKnoll latest to set up at The Village in Stamford". Westfair Communications. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  10. "World's Most Admired Companies 2011: Herman Miller snapshot". CNN.
  11. "Herman Miller, states settle suit on Aeron chair price". Muskegon Chronicle.
  12. "Tim Zaun, "Herman Miller, the BHAG, and Internalizing Sustainability", GreenerDesign, Greenbiz.com, Jun. 22, 2007".
  13. "Herman Miller builds a sustainability model". Crain's Detroit Business. 2015-08-09. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  14. "Our Vision - Herman Miller".
  15. "Herman Miller Embraces Nature and Engages Our Youth". Huffington Post. July 18, 2012.
  16. ""Greenhouse" Factory & Offices | William McDonough + Partners". Archived from the original on 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2012-07-21.