Muscatine, IA (June 14, 2010) – The HON Company received the “2010 Manufacturer of the Year Silver Award” from the Office Furniture Dealers Alliance (OFDA).  The award was announced on the opening day of the 2010 NeoCon® World’s Trade Fair in Chicago, the office furniture industry’s largest trade show of the year.

The annual OFDA Dealer’s Choice awards are presented to manufacturers for their commitment and outreach to the dealer channel.  The winning manufacturers were determined by the results of the Association’s annual OFDA Dealer Manufacturer Satisfaction Index Survey, a dealer poll designed to recognize the best of class performance and topics of concern for the dealer community.  The survey asked dealers to evaluate up to four of their manufacturer business partners in six key categories: training, product lines, service and support, sales and marketing, management and technology.

“The HON Company and our members are honored to be recognized by OFDA and dealers throughout North America with the 2010 Manufacturer of the Year Silver Award.  OFDA is an important industry organization, and to receive this designation from such a notable group is truly humbling,” said Jerry Dittmer, president of The HON Company. “We strive to provide the best combination of products and service to our dealer network. This award reflects our members’ ongoing commitment of excellence to dealers and their customers.”

For more information about The HON Company, its facilities and its comprehensive line of furnishings and accessories, visit www.hon.com

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Muscatine, IA – March 22, 2010 – Born out of meticulous research, The HON Company’s SmartLink™ furniture for learning environments has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from both the education and design communities. Building upon this award-winning collection, HON is pleased to introduce a number of extensions to the SmartLink family – including a compact teacher station, sit-to-stand and fixed student desks, and innovative accessories.

“All of the SmartLink extensions are designed to offer the best utilization of space while providing the ultimate in productivity,” said Mark Roumfort, HON’s vice president of product development. “Whether it’s for a kindergarten or a high school learning environment, these new additions to the SmartLink lines are flexible, durable, smart solutions that can easily be reconfigured to facilitate interactive learning and better support individual teaching and learning styles.”

Compact Teacher Station
Gone are the days when a bulky teacher’s desk sits at the head of the room. Instead, today’s smartest learning environments are flexible and interactive – and require a teacher’s station that fits this bill. The new compact teacher station (24” x 60”; as compared to the traditional size of 26” x 72”) is ideal for teachers who prefer a smaller desk. It also can be used as a computer station or as a workspace for assistants, student teachers or volunteers. What’s more, the smaller size makes it highly mobile and perfect for laptops.

Adaptable Student Desks
The new sit-to-stand student desk adjusts from 30 to 43 inches in one-inch increments; and also presents additional collaborative opportunities for group and project meetings.

Offering further customization in the SmartLink student desks, HON now provides a fixed-height leg option – at 30 inches high – which is perfect for high school and college learning environments.

Both of the new student desk options still feature the same benefits as the other SmartLink student desks, including “non-handed” tops, which provide greater flexibility and arm support to any user. The desks are also lightweight and can easily be organized into a variety of configurations, which is further facilitated by the top shape.  Plus, all of the SmartLink student desks offer a number of storage options, including a backpack hook and wire basket, which allow students the ability to easily organize their materials.

New Accessories
Finally, to make better use of wall and floor space, HON has introduced new whiteboard cabinet brackets and a rail kit for use with its SmartLink storage system. The cabinet and whiteboard brackets attach to HON’s full-height storage units – turning virtually any storage space into an extra teaching surface, display space or student work area, without taking up extra wall space.

For more information about SmartLink education furniture, visit www.hon.com.

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The HON Company Introduces Huddle™ Multi-Purpose Tables

Reported by eFurniture for Office Furniture & Design on 2/18/2010

Muscatine, IA – February 9, 2010 – Gone are the days when meetings were held in traditional conference rooms. In today’s office, work happens everywhere – in training rooms, project rooms, large offices – and more often than not, in an impromptu spot where two or three people want to quickly put their heads together to solve a problem. To provide the ideal solution for the today’s office, The HON Company is pleased to introduce the new Huddle™ collection of multi-purpose tables. These thoughtfully designed tables feature smart design, flexibility and a choice of base, edge and finish options to meet the needs of smart, agile businesses.

“Huddle tables provide the perfect platform for training, meetings and collaboration by allowing you to use the same space for a variety of purposes,” said Fred Colony, vice president of products for The HON Company. “Arrange tables in rows for training in the morning; and then reconfigure them into a presentation-friendly ‘u-shape’ just a few hours later. Or, pull one into an office for a spontaneous meeting with a coworker; then push it against the wall to display items for a new business meeting. The possibilities are virtually endless.”

Huddle tables are easy to set up, rearrange and store when not in use. And, Huddle tables are perfectly compatible with any work environment – offering nine rectangle-top work surface sizes, three base options (post leg, t-leg and flip-top for easy nesting), 16 standard laminate finishes, 15 edge colors, 10 base paint colors and three edge detail options.

To allow for space-efficient table storage, Huddle tables offer a nesting base. While nested, optional modesty panels drop down so the tables can be nested together without removing the panels. And to ensure safe, soft and quiet fold-down operation, an innovative dampened articulation function has been added by HON to Huddle’s hinge mechanism. Huddle tables are also available with glides for stationary use, or casters for enhanced mobility and reconfiguration.

Adding further customization, the Huddle collection offers a variety of accessories to tailor the tables for specific uses. Optional ganging hardware allows the tables to be locked into place – ideal for training rooms or areas open to the general public. Optional wire management trays and USB grommets are also available.

An additional benefit of the Huddle multi-purpose tables is their SCS Indoor Advantage™ indoor air quality certification by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS). When configured with t-mold or edge-banded tops, the collection meets SCS Indoor Advantage certification – the most rigorous indoor air quality criteria in all of North America.

For more information on the Huddle family of multi-purpose tables, contact Corporate Environments or visit huddle.hon.com.

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New Hon Logo 2010

First Mark Alteration in More Than 40 Years
New Logo Reflects The ‘New’ HON 
Smart, Proactive, Responsive and Ready to Serve

Muscatine, Iowa – January 6, 2010 – For some time now, there has been a “buzz” in the office furniture industry… reflecting the direction of the second largest office furniture manufacturer, The HON Company. This “buzz” has been extremely positive… and includes words like smart design… innovative solutions… strategic partnerships… inspiring headquarters and showroom spaces… unsurpassed customer service… and above all, commitment. To better reflect the energy within HON and the “at-your-service” attitude of its members, the company has introduced a new logo and branding initiative – the first such endeavor in more than 40 years. More…

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HON Mirus Mid-Back Work Chair

Improved office productivity starts with a great chair – and the Mirus seating line makes it easy for every employee to achieve custom comfort.  Featuring adjustable lumbar support, a tension knob that is easily accessible and requires less than 4 turns, an “advanced” reclining motion for “enhanced” comfort, height and seat glide adjustment and more.

Mirus raises expectations of what an office chair can do. Your employees spend hours working at their desks.  Now they can be a lot more comfortable doing it.

www.hon.com

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HON | www.hon.com

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HON | www.hon.com

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Muscatine, Iowa – In light of the many storms and floods that recently hit the Midwest, there are many that can use a helping hand.  And one Iowa-based company is leading the way.  The HON Company, a leading office furniture manufacturer, is offering furniture at the most aggressive pricing available – equaling that of the world’s largest purchaser, the United States Federal Government.  The discounts will last throughout 2009, or as long as there is a need.

“At HON, some of our very own members were affected by the flooding, and we know how devastating that can be… so we wanted to do our part to help in whatever way we could,” said Tim Heth, vice president of member and community relations for The HON Company.

“We immediately obtained a waiver from the U.S. General Services Agency (GSA), allowing the affected businesses to purchase at deep Federal discounts – pricing which is usually reserved for federal agencies.  Since we implemented this program, nearly 200 orders have been placed from companies in Iowa, Nebraska and Texas.”

Eligibility is provided to any business that was directly affected by the flooding disaster.

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Flexibility is Key When Designing the Ultimate Office Space

Flexibility is Key When Designing the Ultimate Office Space

Muscatine, Iowa… November, 2008 — If a person’s home is their castle, then what exactly is their office? Their home away from home?
 
According to workplace statistics, that’s pretty much the case. Americans spend an average of 52 hours a week at their desks*, so it’s no surprise that 83 percent of workers say they want the flexibility to personalize this space.

That’s what more than 400 U.S. office workers told The HON Company, a leading designer and manufacturer of office furniture, in a recent research study.  HON surveyed American workers to determine their personal workspace design preferences.  Eighty-three percent of respondents cited flexibility as a must – saying they wanted a desk that allowed them to personalize their active work zone to maximize comfort for their working style.

“Obviously, workers shouldn’t forsake a professional image in favor of personalization, but they do spend a great deal of their lives in their workspace – so it’s no wonder they want to add a bit of themselves to it,” notes Fred Colony, vice president of casegoods, seating and tables at The HON Company. “The two concepts can comfortably coexist in the modern workplace – all it takes is a bit of organization, the right products and thoughtful design.”

Cut Through the Clutter

There’s no excuse for a messy desk, and worse, it hinders productivity. So, to create a more productive and enjoyable home away from home, start by removing clutter and organizing your existing office. Fortunately, today’s office furniture is designed to streamline the workspace, flexibly and efficiently.  New products from HON, in particular, make it easier than ever to cut through office clutter.  The first objective:  better storage.

“Today’s workers want to have everything neatly organized, but also within view…and within reach. They want easy access to their paper files and PDAs, as well as their must-have personal items, such as MP3 players, photographs or even gym clothes.  They want furniture that supports their work style and boosts their productivity in flexible ways,” said Colony.

Unique features in HON’s new desks – Announce and Attune include innovations such as a “hidden” pullout workspace which conveniently slides out for impromptu meetings and tucks away when not in use; or a side-access pedestal which allows users to keep frequently-used items within an arm’s length, but out of site and provides a real ‘home’ for such office items as three-ring binders, manuals, jump drives and CDs, as well as personal items.

But that’s not all – just like people are left- or right-handed, workers also have preferences as to which side of their desk their computer sits.  An articulating monitor rail system on HON’s new Announce desk lets you easily reposition your computer monitor depending on your preference or collaborative needs.  The user can move flat-screen monitors from one side of the desk surface to another, creating active work zones around the desk.

Beyond furniture, a few other office organizational tips include:

•    Once a year, perform a thorough clean-up of your area and discard anything that has not been viewed in the last year.
•    With the remaining items, find the right organizational system for your needs – whether that’s filing in folders, bins or even stackable boxes. 
•    And remember the four basic things you can do with any given item, according to lifeorganizers.com:

     o    Handle It
     o    File It
     o    Delegate It
     o    Get Rid Of It

Get Personal

Once your office space is organized, personal items can serve as the proverbial icing on the cake – the perfect enhancement for a comfortable workspace.

Keep these few tips in mind, and soon you’ll have an office that subtly reflects your personal vibe without compromising your professionalism:

•    HON research reveals that framed photographs are the number one personal item employees keep at their desks.  Display a few photos of your loved ones, because looking at them will make you smile during the day. 
•    Bring in a few items from a treasured collection. Sharing your favorite things gives a peek into your off-hours interests and your personality.
•    Consider adding a potted plant, fresh flowers…or even a tasteful silk arrangement.
•    Plug in a small radio or MP3 player speaker system, if permitted. Just remember to be respectful of your neighbors and keep the volume down.  HON’s Attune and Announce desks offer special grommets and wire management features to keep power cords and audio connections organized and out of sight.

Today’s offices need to be flexible in order to keep pace with modern workstyles. A workspace that is well organized, clutter-free and thoughtfully decorated, with a bit of your own personality showing through, will greatly boost your productivity. What’s more, it also can lift your mood and make the time you spend in your “home away from home” much more comfortable and enjoyable.

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