Pennsylvania-based Emeco builds durable furniture from its Navy Chair legacy

HANOVER, Pa. (WPVI) -- A chair originally designed for use on U.S. Navy submarines remains the foundation of a Pennsylvania furniture manufacturer that now produces outdoor, commercial and residential seating shipped around the world.

Emeco, a family business based in Hanover, York County, began in 1944 and first supplied seating to the U.S. Navy.

The company's original product, known as the Navy Chair, or the 1006, was designed to be lightweight while also meeting demanding durability requirements.

"They wanted to have chairs that were super lightweight, but had to be extremely strong, to handle up day-to-day business," said Greg Poska, VP of Operations.

The representative described the Navy Chair as "really the quintessential chair."

By the late 1990s, the Buchbinder family began expanding beyond government contracts as demand from the federal government declined.

"The government contracts really starting to dry up, they realized they have such a beautiful, robust chair, and that could be really utilized for a lot of commercial applications and residential applications," said Poska.

Today, Emeco offers 20 to 30 different furniture models, many made from sustainable materials, including aluminum and plastics.

The manufacturing process remains labor-intensive.

"It's a 77-step process," said Poska. "Between cutting and folding and bending and drilling, then it goes through the welding process, grinding processes. There's a heat treat process that really makes the chair what it is. It makes it as strong as steel at a third of the weight."

The Navy Chair remains the company's most popular product.

One variation, called the 111 Chair, is made using recycled polyethylene.

"We call it the 111 chair because it takes 111 recycled plastic bottles," said Poska.

Emeco employs dozens of Pennsylvanians on its manufacturing floor, where workers help produce approximately 10,000 to 20,000 pieces of furniture each year.

Those products are shipped globally.

One employee said he first encountered an Emeco Navy Chair while serving in the Army after college.

"After college, I went into the Army. My very first chair was an Navy Emeco chair. I sat in, and I took a look at it, and it said, Hanover, Pennsylvania," he said. "So I was surprised that I didn't realize it was from Hanover."

Company leaders say manufacturing in Pennsylvania remains a source of pride.

"Absolutely," said Poska, when asked whether there is a sense of pride in having the furniture made in Pennsylvania. "We make furniture in America, often by hand, with mostly recycled materials that's built to last, and it's coming right out of central Pennsylvania."