The HON Company
Encyclopedia
The HON Company designs and manufactures office furniture including chair
s, filing cabinets
, workstations, tables
, desk
s and education furniture. Headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa
, The HON Company has manufacturing
facilities strategically located throughout the United States
, and offers its products through a nationwide network of dealers and retailers.
The HON Company is the largest operating company of HNI Corporation, the second-largest office furniture manufacturer in North America
. Sister companies include Allsteel, Gunlocke, HBF, Paoli, Maxon, Hearth & Home Technologies and Omni Workspace.
The HON Company has manufacturing facilities located in Muscatine; Cedartown, GA; and Florence, AL; as well as distribution centers in Muscatine and Lithia Springs, GA. Showrooms are located in Muscatine; New York, NY; Chicago
, IL; Atlanta, GA and Washington, D.C.
and Clement T. Hanson along with H. Wood Miller. The company was founded with the intent of providing employment for those returning from duty in World War II
.
The Home-O-Nize Company began in the production of kitchen cabinets; first in Davenport, IA and then in the old US Button Company factory in downtown Muscatine. Following the short-lived production of kitchen cabinets, the company began manufacturing aluminum gas bottle hoods on contract for Stampings, Inc. With the scrap left-over from the hoods they made flower identification labels, beverage coasters, and recipe card file boxes. For a brief period The Home-O-Nize Company also produced pick-up attachments for John Deere / Deere & Company
combines, Iowa Corn Pickers for Associated Manufacturers Inc., and did contract work for local companies such as Red Jacket, Carver Pump, Collins Radio, G.W. Timmerman and Peter Products. In the end it was the recipe file boxes that paved the way for The Home-O-Nize Company’s entry into the office furniture and supply industry.
In the early 1950s the office products division of The Home-O-Nize Company became The H-O-N Division, and in 1967 it officially became The HON Company. Their parent company, Home-O-Nize, changed its name to HON INDUSTRIES Inc. in 1968 and changed again to its current name, HNI, in 2004.
In 1980 The HON Company moved from the HON INDUSTRIES Inc. headquarters at 414 East Third Street in Muscatine into its current headquarters at 200 Oak Street, the former home of the Huttig Manufacturing Company. The HON Headquarters building was renovated in 2009 with a goal of interplaying history and place with direct, real world examples of effective office design to demonstrate how thoughtful architecture, smart planning and HON furniture come together to create a great workplace. The renovated space greets visitors with a loft-like atmosphere of crisp contrasts, linear lighting and a universal workstation concept. The HON Company Headquarters showroom is also designed to achieve LEED CI certification, which is aided and inspired by the sustainable advantages of HON furnishings.
Today, environmental management is firmly ingrained in all of The HON Company’s manufacturing processes. The HON Company defines waste as anything that does not bring value to the customer, and life cycle considerations are a significant part of all product development efforts.
Chair
A chair is a stable, raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs are most often supported by four legs and have a back; however, a chair can have three legs or could have a different shape depending on the criteria of the chair specifications. A chair without a back or...
s, filing cabinets
Filing cabinet
A filing cabinet is a piece of office furniture usually used to store paper documents in file folders. In the most simple sense, it is an enclosure for drawers in which items are stored. The two most common forms of filing cabinets are blocky files and diagonal files...
, workstations, tables
Table (furniture)
A table is a form of furniture with a flat and satisfactory horizontal upper surface used to support objects of interest, for storage, show, and/or manipulation...
, desk
Desk
A desk is a furniture form and a class of table often used in a work or office setting for reading or writing on or using a computer. Desks often have one or more drawers to store office supplies and papers. Unlike a regular table, usually only one side of a desk is suitable to sit on . Not all...
s and education furniture. Headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, The HON Company has manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
facilities strategically located throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and offers its products through a nationwide network of dealers and retailers.
The HON Company is the largest operating company of HNI Corporation, the second-largest office furniture manufacturer in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Sister companies include Allsteel, Gunlocke, HBF, Paoli, Maxon, Hearth & Home Technologies and Omni Workspace.
The HON Company has manufacturing facilities located in Muscatine; Cedartown, GA; and Florence, AL; as well as distribution centers in Muscatine and Lithia Springs, GA. Showrooms are located in Muscatine; New York, NY; Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, IL; Atlanta, GA and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
History
The HON Company was incorporated as The Home-O-Nize Company on January 6, 1944 by brothers-in-law C. Maxwell StanleyC. Maxwell Stanley
Claude Maxwell "Max" Stanley was an American engineer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, peace activist, and world citizen. He founded Stanley Consultants, an engineering and consulting firm; co-founded HON Industries, an office furniture manufacturing company; and funded the Stanley Foundation, an...
and Clement T. Hanson along with H. Wood Miller. The company was founded with the intent of providing employment for those returning from duty in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The Home-O-Nize Company began in the production of kitchen cabinets; first in Davenport, IA and then in the old US Button Company factory in downtown Muscatine. Following the short-lived production of kitchen cabinets, the company began manufacturing aluminum gas bottle hoods on contract for Stampings, Inc. With the scrap left-over from the hoods they made flower identification labels, beverage coasters, and recipe card file boxes. For a brief period The Home-O-Nize Company also produced pick-up attachments for John Deere / Deere & Company
Deere & Company
Deere & Company, usually known by its brand name John Deere , is an American corporation based in Moline, Illinois, and the leading manufacturer of agricultural machinery in the world. In 2010, it was listed as 107th in the Fortune 500 ranking...
combines, Iowa Corn Pickers for Associated Manufacturers Inc., and did contract work for local companies such as Red Jacket, Carver Pump, Collins Radio, G.W. Timmerman and Peter Products. In the end it was the recipe file boxes that paved the way for The Home-O-Nize Company’s entry into the office furniture and supply industry.
In the early 1950s the office products division of The Home-O-Nize Company became The H-O-N Division, and in 1967 it officially became The HON Company. Their parent company, Home-O-Nize, changed its name to HON INDUSTRIES Inc. in 1968 and changed again to its current name, HNI, in 2004.
In 1980 The HON Company moved from the HON INDUSTRIES Inc. headquarters at 414 East Third Street in Muscatine into its current headquarters at 200 Oak Street, the former home of the Huttig Manufacturing Company. The HON Headquarters building was renovated in 2009 with a goal of interplaying history and place with direct, real world examples of effective office design to demonstrate how thoughtful architecture, smart planning and HON furniture come together to create a great workplace. The renovated space greets visitors with a loft-like atmosphere of crisp contrasts, linear lighting and a universal workstation concept. The HON Company Headquarters showroom is also designed to achieve LEED CI certification, which is aided and inspired by the sustainable advantages of HON furnishings.
Products
The HON Company provides workplace furniture for small and medium-sized businesses. Its core product offering includes workstations, desks, chairs, tables and storage.Environmental Responsibility
In 1947 The HON Company started out making products from pieces of scrap metal generated from its contract businesses. More than 60 years later, The HON Company practices a comprehensive program to conserve raw materials and reduce waste.Today, environmental management is firmly ingrained in all of The HON Company’s manufacturing processes. The HON Company defines waste as anything that does not bring value to the customer, and life cycle considerations are a significant part of all product development efforts.
External links
- The HON Company’s official website: http://www.hon.com