Beginning in 1887, much of the seating for churches involves intricate wood carving; the company becomes known for its master carvers and beautiful craftsmanship.
Our Early Years 1886-1940 1885
1887
1905
1920s
In this year, the Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor, the first skyscraper (10 stories) is built in Chicago and during a Grand Rapids, Michigan, school board meeting, a light-bulb moment redefines educational environments for the century to follow.
On May 8, the founders incorporate Grand Rapids School Furniture Company. Building on its immediate success in schools, the company expands into seating for churches and other public venues.
Earnings through 1905 total $1.2 million. The company purchases additional properties in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest.
Dr. Henry Eastman Bennett’s research results in the design of the company’s Universal and Envoy lines for the education market.
At this meeting, business and school board leaders Gaius W. Perkins, William T. Hess and Seymour W. Peregrine sit in the very seats that students use during the school day. Shifting constantly to get comfortable, they determine the seats that school children sit in are poorly designed – and they resolve to do better. This is the beginning of American Seating.
Much of the seating for churches involves intricate wood carving; the company becomes known for its master carvers and beautiful craftsmanship.
1922 1888
1906
Grand Rapids School Furniture Company buys seven acres on Broadway Avenue between Ninth and Tenth streets on Grand Rapids’ northwest side. The company constructs a 70,000-square-foot factory and moves in on August 1. Increasing its workforce to 350 employees, the company becomes the biggest manufacturer of its kind in the city.
The company changes its name to American Seating Company, and offices move from New York back to Grand Rapids.
1886
1911
1923
The company opens a steel plant and begins production of the 101 Desk. Made of steel tubing, the desk is a first of its kind. So many are made that, pundits say, they could be lined up and stretch from Grand Rapids to Los Angeles and then 180 miles beyond into the Pacific Ocean.
American Seating Company makes the seats in the original Yankee Stadium, home of the New York Yankees.
1912
On January 5, Perkins, Hess and Peregrine, with 50 employees, open a factory at the corner of Prescott and Ionia streets in Grand Rapids to manufacture school and office furniture. The first product is a cast-iron and maplewood student desk-and-chair unit. This unprecedented combination revolutionizes classroom seating.
American Seating Company provides the seats for The Ohio State University’s football stadium.
1930s
American Seating Company manufactures and installs new seating for Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, the beginning of a long relationship with the famous ballpark.
1889
Early 1900s
1926
The company officially enters the entertainment seating market by furnishing the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado, and the McPherson Opera House in McPherson, Kansas.
With the increased popularity of vaudeville and then motion pictures, theater seating becomes American Seating Company’s primary product. The company is deluged with orders, and many orders are for 299 chairs per venue. The reason: Theaters with more than 299 chairs required a theater license and special fire permits.
American Seating Company renovates and modernizes its Grand Rapids facilities on Broadway Avenue.
1892 Grand Rapids School Furniture Company ranks as the top seating manufacturer in the world, producing more seats than any other manufacturer (81,000 to date).
1893
1909
The company designs and delivers the world’s first tilt-back opera chair.
American Seating Company manufactures and installs seating at Forbes Field for the Pittsburgh Pirates – the company’s first foray into baseball seating.
1927 Hollywood spreads across America and everyone’s going to the movies. The nation’s theaters, grand “movie palaces,” require elaborate seating to complement ornate décor. Entertainment moguls of the day Marcus Loew, William Fox and others engage American Seating Company for seats. Theater seating installations boom with major contracts with the Loew’s Theatre and Fox Theatre chains. American Seating Company moves all manufacturing operations to Grand Rapids.
1899 Grand Rapids School Furniture Company changes its name to American School Furniture Company. The company acquires 18 of the largest seating and furniture manufacturing companies in the United States. These companies expand American School Furniture Company’s holdings from the Midwest to the East Coast, with offices located in New York and Chicago.
The company designs the Bodiform® end standard to add affordable design décor to theater seats at a time when money can’t be spent on splendor. The innovation is such a success that the end standard remains a popular part of American Seating’s portfolio. The company develops the first ¾-fold indoor-outdoor seat so spectators can move easily through aisles and into seats.
1931 All offices are consolidated in Grand Rapids. The Transportation Division manufactures the first all-tubular-steel-framed seats used in buses.
1932 American Seating Company manufactures and installs new seating for the upper deck of Fenway Park.
1936 1910
1914
The company begins manufacturing tank seats for military operations.
Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox, opens with 32,000 American Seating Company seats. The ballpark adds more seats in 1927.
American Seating Company manufactures and installs seating for the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field. Some of the original seats will last into the next millennium, a testament to the durability and quality of the company’s product.
1937 From years 1927 to 1937, the company reports earnings of $2.5 million, and exits the Great Depression in a strong financial position.
1947 - President Harry S. Truman enjoys a baseball game in Kansas City in an American Seating seat.
Building On A Diverse History 1941-1980 1945 Between 1937 and 1945, American Seating Company’s net worth increases to $6.7 million. The company installs new seats for Yankee Stadium in New York.
1947 American Seating Company begins manufacturing seats for urban transit buses – today called city-service buses.
1974
President Harry S. Truman enjoys a baseball game in Kansas City in an American Seating seat.
1941
The company replaces the seats at Yankee Stadium in New York.
1958
1962
American Seating Company becomes the first to develop outdoor, blow-molded plastic seats after Dutch elm disease destroys most of the nation’s elm trees. The first installation with this new technology is the Los Angeles Coliseum.
American Seating chairs are installed in the New York State Theater (now called the David H. Koch Theater) at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.
With the United States’ entry into World War II, American Seating Company converts much of its production to seating and other products for the military.
During this time, the company produces 10,000 folding chairs per day, ultimately making 5 million chairs for the military. A running joke at the time: “We’re in charge of seating the standing army.”
By the end of the decade, American Seating Company has established itself as the leading manufacturer of transit seating – a position the company holds to this day.
1950s
The company develops the industry’s first stainless-steel seat for use in buses.
1970 The company begins manufacturing seating for rail cars.
• Tank seats
1977
American Seating launches the Stellar® chair for the Education and Entertainment markets.
• Pack boards • Mess tables • Spar caps for the Douglas A-26 • Wooden training models of the 40MM anti-aircraft gun
1960
• Ammunition boxes • Wings and spars for the AT-10 Beech aircraft • Inboard wings for the CG-4A
• Wood components for gliders used for D-Day invasion
1975
The company begins manufacturing modular-classroom and lab furniture.
• Pilot ejection seats and inertia locking reels
• Backpacks for troops
American Seating Company provides the seats for the Wings Hockey Arena in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The company develops the transportation industry’s first cantilevered bus seat, an innovation that increases the comfort and cleanliness of bus seating.
Other war products include:
• Parts for the AT-21 Bomber Trainer and M5 Bomb Trailer
Transportation seating sales hit an all-time high.
The company releases the Acton® chair. The iconic seat becomes one of the best-selling stacking chairs of all time.
1969
1944 Production at American Seating Company has increased since the war’s inception, and employment stands at 1,000. Ninety percent of the company’s manufactured goods support the U.S. Military.
American Seating Company designs and installs one of the first automated part-transfer systems in the nation; the new seat-pan stamping presses expand capacity to 1,500 finished parts per 8-hour shift.
From the collections of The Henry Ford.
1955 On December 1 in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks makes history by refusing to relinquish her bus seat which was was made by American Seating Company. The company updates the seating in the Detroit Tigers Stadium.
The company announces it will enter the health care market. Recognizing radical changes in patient safety, care, comfort and rehabilitation, American Seating Company designs an entirely new hospital bed system and complementary furniture. To accommodate the new market, a vast manufacturing facility covering 41 acres is constructed near the site of today’s American Seating Park. An onsite foundry, pictured above, enables American Seating to cast its own iron. The company begins producing motorcoach seating.
American Seating Company enters the office furniture market. The company begins producing a flexible and functional interior furniture system designed to respond to human ergonomic needs and workplace functionality.
American Seating Company coauthors the White Book, a widely used publication that provides procurement guidelines and technical specifications for the transportation industry.
American Seating becomes the first to make office wall panels with removable inserts.
The company makes and installs the seats for Mickey Mouse Music Hall at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
1971
1973
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opens in Washington, D.C., filled with American Seating chairs.
The company develops the first fiberglass transportation seat with quick-release, replaceable onserts.
The company becomes the leading developer of restraint systems for the transportation industry, before the implementation of any formalized Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
1980 The Minnesota Vikings complete a new stadium outfitted entirely with American Seating seats.
2011 - The introduction of the Core™ seat utilizes state of the art equipment and incorporates 60% post consumer waste in its design.
Providing Innovative Solutions 1981 - Present 1981
1983
American Seating Company releases the Bio® chair, a customizable, caster-base office chair.
American Seating Company is purchased by Fuqua, Inc. based in Atlanta.
1985 The Fox Theatre in Atlanta selects nearly 3,000 American Seating Company seats for a major renovation.
1984 The company introduces energyabsorbing plastic grab-rails atop bus seats for added passenger safety.
The company purchases Otaco, a transit seating manufacturer based in Canada.
1992
1997
2000
2008
The company releases the 505 slat back, a blow-molded baseball chair for Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore; the seats evoke a nostalgic ballpark look.
American Seating Company produces the Framework free-standing desk.
The company introduces its Credence and Brilliance tables, Framework Segway panels and the Transportation Recliner Series.
American Seating Company debuts Vision®. Inspired by InSight®, the seat meets the needs of bus and rail transit agencies looking for product specifically engineered for aesthetics and superior vandal resistance.
2001
The company’s Focus® Fixed Lecture product revolutionizes the college and university market.
The company introduces the 507 Baseball Chair. The Santa Fe Opera House selects new American Seating chairs for its renovation.
American Seating Company unveils its Accuwerks and Whirl tables.
The company develops a quick-release/ sliding seat to accommodate mobility aids in transit.
The company provides seats for Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers.
2002 1987
Metropolitan® transit seating is introduced to the City Bus and Light Rail Markets.
1994
Ed Clark and a group of private investors purchase American Seating Company from Fuqua, Inc.
The company releases the Cue® chair for the office market.
The company releases the Acton® caster base and stool.
2009 1998
2003
American Seating Company provides the seats for the Detroit Tigers’ new stadium, Comerica Park.
American Seating Company reinvests in its roots and renovates its campus on Grand Rapids’ northwest side. Historic buildings are preserved while contemporary living and working environments are created. The area becomes known as American Seating Park.
American Seating also provides the seating for Pac Bell Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, and Minute Maid Park (then called Enron Field), home of the Houston Astros. American Seating helps to complete M&T Bank Stadium for the Baltimore Ravens, including a hinged-arm stadium chair to accommodate disabled patrons.
1995 The company builds a new transportation plant on Seward Avenue, expanding the American Seating campus footprint on Grand Rapids’ northwest side. The 175,000-square-foot plant opens the following year. The company unveils Framework Access® panels for use in office systems.
1996
1988 American Seating Company develops vandal- and cut-resistant seat cushion inserts, enabling upholstered seating in public transportation. Buses in New York City and Chicago boast the first such seating. The Dimension chair launches in the Education and Sports Markets. ®
The company introduces the Advanced Restraint Module (A.R.M.®) for mobility aid securement in the transportation market. Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids installs American Seating products.
The company releases the Spirit® seat.
The company releases the Oz chair and the 408 Stadium Chair.
2004
1999
U.S. Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, replaces all seats with American Seating product after only 13 years with a competitor’s seats.
American Seating Company helps to renovate The Ohio State University Buckeyes’ “The Horseshoe” Stadium with installation of the 408 Stadium Chair. American Seating Company installs new seats at the Cleveland Browns Stadium.
American Seating releases Premier®, a motorcoach seat that revolutionizes safety. Greyhound is the first to install the seats in its motorcoaches. American Seating installs seats at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida. American Seating takes part in a historic renovation of the beloved Fenway Park, replicating original wood seats with new technology. Federal stimulus grants increase contracts for bus seating. InSight® is selected for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games SkyTrain in Vancouver.
2005 American Seating Company provides new seats for Quicken Loans Arena, (formerly Gund Arena), home of the Cleveland Cavaliers. American Seating chairs replace a competitor’s seats, installed in 1994.
2006 This year is big for baseball: The company produces seats for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs, the Iowa City Cubs and the Traverse City Beach Bums. All told, 140,000 seats are made, shipped and installed. American Seating Company develops the InSight® bus seat, which offers the largest personal sitting area in the industry. The seat becomes the best-selling bus seat in the world. The Majestic® chair is introduced to capture the grandeur of a bygone theater era.
2010
2011
The Rally Chair is released as a telescopic platform seating solution.
The company launches the Core™ chair, a costeffective auditorium solution.
The University of Michigan selects American Seating for new club seating as part of major renovation of “The Big House” football stadium.
American Seating is the leading manufacturer of mass transit passenger seating with seats in every major city in America, from Los Angeles to New York, and Grand Rapids.
The new Meadowlands Sports Complex in New Jersey – home to both the New York Jets and Giants – receives American Seating seats.
The famous Kiel (Peabody) Opera House renovation project includes custom American Seating chairs. American Seating celebrates its 125th anniversary.