Herman Miller furniture came into being in 1923 when D.J. De Pree—the president of Michigan Star
Furniture—convinced his father-in-law, Herman Miller, to become a majority shareholder. Originally
the company only sold reproductions of traditional home furnishings. But hit hard by the Great
Depression, they decided to focus on more modern furnishings to meet the needs of a fast-changing
world. The result was so successful, the company phased out their traditional pieces by the mid-1940s.
Since then, the Michigan-based company has established relationships with leading-edge designers,
including George Nelson—who became Herman Miller's lead designer in 1945, Charles and Ray Eames,
and Isamu Noguchi.
Herman Miller believes that good design should solve problems, and that commitment to innovation extends
to the way their furnishings are made. Always striving to be more efficient, the company has recently
modified their production to a lean manufacturing system, which helped reduce the square-footage needed
to produce their products and maintain inventory.
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In 1953, Herman Miller's founder, De Pree wrote, "Herman Miller will be a good corporate neighbor
by being a good steward of the environment." As environmental awareness has become even more a part
of the corporate landscape, Herman Miller continues to find ways to improve. "Every aspect of our
business, from design and manufacture through our packaging, transportation, and our corporate facilities,
is part of an environmental plan," says Paul M. Murray, Herman Miller's director of environmental affairs
and safety. They have also created a company-wide initiative called Perfect Vision, which
sets the goal of eliminating any negative environmental impact of their business operations by the
year 2020. "As we say in our formal values statement, Things that Matter," says Murray, "the people
of Herman Miller are about more than being a commercial success. We also strive to contribute to a better world."
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