Emeco and Aluminum: A Story of Innovation and Invention

1808. Sir Humphrey Davy proves the existence of aluminum, a metal that does not occur naturally in the earth's crust. Aluminum costs over $500 per pound at the time.

1886. Charles Martin Hall patents the process for economical aluminum refining.

1888. Alcoa is founded in Pittsburgh to manufacture aluminum, but it takes several years for industry to find ways to use the new metal. Alcoa improves the refining process, bringing the price of aluminum ingot from $4.86 a pound in 1888 to 78 cents in 1893. Business grows, and aluminum products soon include cooking utensils, foil, electric wire and cable, auto bodies, and parts of the engine used in the Wright brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk.

1930's. A pound of aluminum costs 20 cents and Alcoa counts more than 2,000 uses for its products, including parts for the new aircraft industry. World War II forces US industry to become economical and reliable. Aluminum demand doubles, and so does Alcoa's production. Alcoa becomes the largest manufacturer of aluminum in the world. The company develops more products that utilize aluminum, and works with the US Navy to design a chair frame that is lightweight, non-corrosive and strong for use on newly commissioned submarines.

1944. Wilton Carlyle Dinges III founds the Electrical Machine and Equipment Company (Emeco) in Hanover PA utilizing the skills of local German immigrant craftsmen. Dinges is an avid art collector - especially interested in Rodin sculptures, which he compares to Emeco chairs, noting that they are both one piece "sculptured masterworks". Emeco begins to manufacture the 1006 chair for use on US Navy submarines and ships. After World War II, the US government is the largest purchaser of Emeco chairs - and remains so until the 1970's. The US military shrinks as the cold war ends, and so do sales of 1006 chairs.

1978. Jay Buchbinder, engineer inventor of the swivel-pedestal counter stool, buys struggling Emeco and utilizes its manufacturing for his restaurant contracting company (JBI) with international clients like McDonalds.

1998. Gregg Buchbinder, design aficionado, takes over Emeco after seeing the 1006 chair used in key installations by top US and European architects and begins to expand the US market for the 1006 chairs.

1999. Gregg meets Philippe Starck, a passionate 1006 fan, at the new Paramount hotel. Starck is amazed that Emeco is run by "such a young guy - I thought it must be some old men in suits!" The two begin a close working relationship and develop a full series of products that includes the Hudson and Heritage chairs and Café tables.

2000. Emeco launches Starck's first product. The Hudson chair is designed for the new Hudson Hotel - a 1,000-room luxury hotel on New York's east side. Each room features a polished Hudson side chair, and each floor has a snack area with several Hudson barstools.
The Hudson is a more neutral transmutation of the classic Emeco 1006. Instead of a slat back, the Hudson is designed with one-piece aluminum panel curved to the shape of one's back. "It's an attempt to remain faithful to the Emeco spirit," says Starck. "The styling is meant to be very pure, very reductive. It's not meant to be loud. If one can say of such a beautiful chair, it's understated." In creating the Hudson, Starck surmounts three problems: invent a design that pays tribute to the classic, design a shape, using a hard material that is comfortable, and create look that will last.

2001. The Hudson chair is accepted into the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

2002. The Museum of Modern Art commissions Starck and Emeco to design a simple stool for its blockbuster Mies van der Rohe retrospective. The Emeco Stool becomes an instant classic.

2003. Starck designs Kong, a barstool and chair, for the Kong restaurant in Paris. Kong is introduced at the Milan Furniture Fair.
Buchbinder meets Frank Gehry and begins work on SUPERLIGHT, an all-aluminum chair that flexes with the user. "I want three things in this chair: comfort, light weight and strength, explains Gehry. "Aluminum was the obvious choice and Emeco was the only company that could make it."

2004. Emeco introduces SUPERLIGHT at the Milan Furniture Fair.


Notes on sustainability:
Aluminum is an ecological metal: of the 680 million tons of aluminum produced since the industry began in 1886, 440 million are still in use. The content of post consumer recycled aluminum used to make Emeco chairs is high - between 75 and 80%. Chairs made out of virgin aluminum have an energy density that is 17 times higher than that of Emeco chairs.

It is important to note the recycled content of Emeco chairs but in addition, and perhaps even of greater significance, is the aspect of sustainability. Emeco chairs have an estimated life span of 150 years and a lifetime warranty as well. This, combined with their classic styling, means Emeco chairs can be handed down for generations, eliminating the need for recycling.



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