GRAND RAPIDS, MI — American Seating, a 137-year-old Grand Rapids company that originally made school furniture and now makes seating for some of the nation’s largest transit systems, is leaving its longtime home on Broadway Avenue NW to open new headquarters on Broadway Avenue NW to build southeast side of town.
The company plans to move its corporate headquarters and manufacturing operations to the former Steelcase site at 1040 40th St. SE by the end of the year, according to a press release.
Renovations are currently underway at the property, a 210,000 square foot building where transport seats are designed and manufactured. According to American Seating, the building is a “technically advanced workplace” that will support the “growth and vision of the company for the future”.
“Our new headquarters and manufacturing facility is an important and meaningful commitment to our employees, our community, our customers and the transport seating industry,” said Thomas Bush, president and CEO of American Seating, in a statement. “We are excited to share with you these grand plans for the next chapter in our company’s history.”
American Seating was founded in 1886 as the Grand Rapids School Furniture Company and employed 50 people. It later began making seating for churches, auditoriums and stadiums including Wrigley Field and Comerica Park. In recent years, the company has exited the stadium business and focused solely on transport seats.
The company now employs 200 people, up from around 500 in 2012.
The new headquarters will consolidate American Seating’s office and manufacturing operations under one roof, a move aimed at “creating more integration and communication between teams,” according to a press release. American Seating’s facility in the building has a “linear flow,” the company said. The design will encourage more collaboration and will “accommodate new equipment and increase production capacity.”
In a press release, American Seating said its decision to narrow its focus to transportation and exit other seating markets “has paid off.”
“Not only do we continue to be the market leader in transit seating, we have expanded our presence into new markets in the United States and Canada,” the company said in a press release. “Moving to our new location will support American Seating’s growth and vision for the future.”
The company’s offices are located in transportation systems in Grand Rapids, Atlanta, New York City, Baltimore, Miami, St. Louis, San Francisco, Toronto and more.
In addition to the production areas, the new building will house product development and presentation areas as well as areas for team meetings and training. Six meter high glass walls allow natural light into a staff café and break room. And an intermediate balcony, which will be built as part of the renovation, will allow building occupants to observe the entire design and manufacturing process.
Architectural plans were developed by Ghafari Associates.
First Companies, a Gaines Township-based construction company, was commissioned to refurbish the building. The renovations include the construction of a new entrance and the modernization of the entire interior of the building to “create an open, engaging and technologically advanced workspace”.
“We have worked with leadership to create a space that will lead the company into the future by bringing manufacturing operations and corporate offices under one roof to enable direct collaboration between teams and built-in process efficiencies,” says Thomas Tooley, Executive Vice President of Ghafari Associates and the principal responsible for the project said in a statement.
“When you visit the new website you will know you are in the legendary American Seating. It will be an incredible place that will make employees proud to work for this storied Grand Rapids company.”
American Seating’s current headquarters, renovated in the early 2000s, is located at 801 Broadway Ave. NW.
The company said it is hiring new workers to prepare for the move.
According to a press release, new job growth “will be at 7% in 2023 and is expected to be another 10% by the end of the year.” A company spokesman said it was recruiting around 20 new employees to prepare for the move.
Those interested in positions at the company can find out more at americanseating.com/careers.
“It’s very important to us to stay here in this city where we were founded 137 years ago,” Edward Clark, chairman of American Seating, said in a statement. “Once we learned about the Southeast Side property and saw the advantages of its location and potential, we knew we had found our new home. We are proud to continue our legacy in Grand Rapids and look forward to our future here.”
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