What is the manufacturing process of a chair like?
Our partners at Herman Miller opened the doors of their factories and offices in Michigan, United States, to show us the complex yet efficient design and manufacturing process of their various furniture pieces and products. During a three-day tour, we saw that their production involves a high level of detail and craftsmanship, where the experience and skill of their workers are essential.
The tour began at the Herman Miller Design Yard in Holland, Michigan, a space configured around the concepts of Living Office, strategic space design conceived to intuitively facilitate work processes and foster interaction and creativity among its users.
We then headed to Davidson Plyforms, the company responsible for producing the plywood components that make up the chairs and various furniture pieces created by Herman Miller's designers, including the famous Eames Lounge Chair, Molded Chair, and Plywood Chair.
The tour concluded with the upholstery and assembly processes, which are carried out at Genesis Seating for high-end products, and at the Herman Miller Green House for office chairs and furniture.
The latter building—where the assembly line outputs a chair every 17 seconds—also includes training and exhibition spaces displaying products in pre-configured environments.
Explore some of these products and find more details about the company here.
This article was written by José Tomás Franco. The translation is powered by AI.
