It was 1919, and C.S. “Cy” Ober, recently discharged first sergeant in the Army Aviation Service in WWI, started his own office furniture business in Indianapolis. The Michigan-based Metal Office Furniture Company—known today as Steelcase—wanted to expand its five-person salesforce to help sell the company’s three products: a steel filing case, wastebasket and desk. Catching wind of Ober’s ambition, Metal Office Furniture’s owner, David Hunting, took a train from Michigan to Indianapolis’ Union Station in 1922. On a handshake, Hunting asked Ober to become his first office furniture dealer. That handshake deal, which still stands today, helped form Business Furniture—the first Steelcase dealer in the world.
Business Furniture Address
8421 Bearing Drive Indianapolis city, IN United States