Flexsteel Furniture History

The History Of Award Winning Flexsteel Furniture In America

Flexsteel Furniture is a 117-year old, financially-sound company with no debt, with more than 2 million square feet of manufacturing capacity throughout the United States.

We are a full-service, customer-driven seating manufacturer that brings  design ideas into reality.

1893-1901

With just 50 cents in his pocket, Flexsteel founder, Frank Bertsch, arrived in America in 1881.

Americans push westward and needed furniture. In 1893, the Rolph & Ball Furniture Company was established in Minneapolis to manufacture upholstered furniture to meet the demands of the westward pioneers.

By 1901, they sold the company to four experienced tradesmen formerly of the nearby McCloud & Smith Furniture Company.

The four new partners were John Grau, salesman; R.F. Curtis, shipping clerk; T.J. Gorman, finisher; and Frank Bertsch, upholstery foreman. They called their new operation The Grau-Curtis Company.

The company’s 1903 catalogue included sofas, sofa sleepers, divans, and chairs — as well as hotel, lodge, lounge, and church furniture.

In 1917, Frank Bertsch bought out the remaining partner’s interest in the company and, soon after, brought his son into the business.

Fine craftsmanship has been a hallmark of Flexsteel furniture since the late 1800s, when each piece was completely hand-assembled by one of 22 employees. Today, hundreds of furniture craftsmen are part of a nation-wide network of manufacturing facilities.

1901-1929

Herbert T. Bertsch was the visionary who decided to use a unique, all-riveted blue clock spring steel base spring to differentiate Grau-Curtis furniture from competitors.

The new spring, developed by Swiss inventor E.W. Schlappritzi for European railroad car seating, worked so well that in 1927, the Grau-Curtis Company bought a half-interest in Schlappritzi’s Minneapolis-based Sanitas Spring Company.

Later, in 1929, Grau-Curtis was reincorporated as Northome Furniture Industries, Inc.

One of the industry’s first sofa sleepers, the 1906 leather an oak model promised comfort and style. Today’s Flexsteel hospitality sleepers offer sitting comfort by day and sleeping comfort by night.

1929-1939

Depression-proof success. Although the stock market crashed in 1929 and the nation spun into the Great Depression, Northome Furniture Industries, Inc. continued to manufacture and successfully sell its furniture.

In 1934, the Sanitas Spring Company became the Flexsteel Spring Corporation. The brand name of the spring also became Flexsteel.

During this time, Northome began to guarantee the Flexsteel spring for life.

Two years later, in 1936, the company moved to Dubuque, Iowa and established conveyor production lines.

1940-1949

Bigger and better. The advent of the assembly line helped Northome to quadruple volume (from one million to four million units) and several large plants were added across the country to accommodate customer demands, including the Southhome plant in Texas.

It was also a time of “firsts” — a central engineering department was developed, national advertising was implemented, the design and development department was created, and the first truck of the company’s fleet rolled out.

In 1948, the company acquired the Flexsteel Spring Corporation (formerly Sanitas Spring).

1950-1959

Solid growth continued expansion. The company is re-named after the famous spring. To better serve the Eastern United States, Flexsteel built a plant in Pennsylvania. That plant, currently 216,000 sq. ft., is one of the top producers of fine upholstered furniture in the East.

In 1958, the Harrison, Arkansas plant was developed as a central source for frames. That same year, the company was renamed Flexsteel Industries, Inc., after its famous spring.

High fashion and more.

During the 1960s, contemporary furniture became immensely popular. Flexsteel was a style innovator and met the demands of fashionable consumers everywhere with dynamic styles and vibrant colors.

In 1965, Flexsteel led the industry once again by establishing the Brunswick Converting Division to produce printed nylon fabrics known as Fantasia® and Astrolon®.

Called “the star of space-age fabrics,” Astrolon was furniture’s most durable fabric. Late in the decade, Flexsteel began making the popular Flex-O-Lounger® mechanism and recliners and gearing up to manufacturer seats for recreational vehicle seating for Winnebago Industries. The latter resulted in the creation of the Vehicle Seating Division.

In 1969, Flexsteel stock was publicly traded for the first time. 1960-1969

1970-1979

New product and new processes. The vehicle seating division continued to grow during the 1970 by developing patented sofa sleepers: the Instant Bed, Magic Bed®, and Presto Sofa Sleeper.

By the end of this decade, Flexsteel was furnishing the entire seating and sleeping package for General Motor’s popular motor homes.

1970 also marked Flexsteel’s entry in the exposed wood chair business.

A plant in Tennessee was developed to produce the fashionable with the Charisma® chairs.

Quality counts, customer buys. Flexsteel introduced adjustable lumbar support on the popular Flexsteel recliner.

In 1985

Flexsteel’s Ergo Touch adjustable lumbar support system won an endorsement from the International Chiropractors Association. Additionally, motional modular groups were introduced to many consumer fanfares and the first Flexsteel Gallery store-within-a-store was established.

The Commercial Seating Division was launched in 1984, serving the healthcare, hospitality, institutional markets. 1980-1989

1990-1999

100 years old and still growing. Flexsteel celebrated its centennial in 1993 with a commemorative, premium-quality collection, Centennial Royale.

During the early part of the decade, Flexsteel began to sell its lines around the world. Introduced in 1996 was a fresh new concept in furniture retail display.

The Flexsteel Comfort Gallery program now showcases Flexsteel upholstered furniture within independent dealer showrooms across the country.

With the start of the new century, Flexsteel took its vehicle seating business to the high seas. We took the best of the best and incorporated it into unique designs for luxury marine sitting and sleeping.

From 2001-2007

Flexsteel teamed up with emmy-award winning host and designer, Christopher Lowell to create the Christopher Lowell Home Collection.

In 2003, Flexsteel purchased DMI Furniture, Inc., a design, manufacturing and marketing company offering residential bedroom and dining room furniture as well as commercial office furniture.

From 2004-2010

Flexsteel teamed up with Wrangler to produce the Wrangler Home Collection, a comfortable, relaxed collection designed to fit real life.

Today, Flexsteel values fresh ideas and new technology. That’s one reason why Flexsteel is the most successful diversified seating company in the country, manufacturing seats for every use: residential, commercial, and vehicle.

From one small factory in Minneapolis to a nationwide five-plant network, Flexsteel is truly an American success story.

This is a company with a proud history and a brilliant future.

Broadway Furniture

228 NE Broadway

Portland Oregon 97232

503 — 281 — 5555

“Your Doorway To Values”

We Are Locally Owned and Family Run For Over 70 Years!

Our store carries over 50,000 square feet of furniture and accessories on 5 floors.

If you don’t see it on our showroom floor, we can special order it for you — at No Extra Cost!