Following his dream of owning a business, former high school industrial arts teacher G.W. Haworth started Modern Products Company in 1948 with $10,000 borrowed from his parents’ life insurance policy. G .W. started the company in the Haworth family garage, making pretty much anything anyone needed.

In 1951 Haworth was approached by an architect who had designed an office partition to be used at the new United Auto Workers (UAW) union headquarters in Detroit. Haworth accepted the job of producing the partitions, and he set about planning the prototype, referred to as a bank partition. Building on the partition business, the company introduced the first prewired panel system, Uni-Group designed by G.W.’s son, Dick Haworth in 1975.

Haworth began growing through acquisitions in the late 1980s and now has a host of subsidiaries in North America and in overseas markets. Haworth Inc. reached $1 billion in annual revenue by 1994 when the company bought several architectural interior companies, going beyond furniture to complete office interiors.

Today, Haworth Inc. is the second largest manufacturer of office furniture in the United States. Some of its brand names are Haworth, LaCasse, United Chair, Anderson Hickey, and Globe. Brands stemming from its European operations include Castelli, Comforto, Ordo, and Seldex.