American Seating headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., welcomed U.S. Vice President Joe Biden to its campus today; the vice president toured the American Seating transportation plant that makes bus and rail seats used in more than 75 percent of public transit systems across North America.
Vice President Biden discussed with American Seating workers, company leadership, and local, regional and statewide dignitaries the Obama administration’s plan to help businesses bring manufacturing jobs back to America by eliminating incentives to ship jobs overseas and offering tax credits for insourcing.
“American Seating’s mission is to make seats and other furniture for everyday people, for just about every public setting imaginable. We’re pretty proud that we’ve been doing that for more than 125 years, right here in the same location, right here with a Grand Rapids, Michigan, Made-in-America workforce,” American Seating President Tom Bush said. “American companies need Washington to focus on how important it is for our country to continue to manufacture products right here. With the right environment and a level playing field, there is no reason why we can’t grow our manufacturing base.”
100 percent of American Seating products are manufactured in the U.S.A. Ninety-five percent of the company’s products are made from domestic content.
The company sells the No. 1-selling bus seat on the market, known as InSight, which also has the largest personal sitting area on the market. American Seating transit seats are used in bus, rail and motorcoaches.
The company, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2011, got its start by inventing the first student-seat-desk combination. American Seating remains committed to the education market as well as other architectural environments, including office facilities, sports stadiums, theaters, and concert and lecture halls
As part of its year-long celebration, American Seating opened an exhibit to the public last June at the Grand Rapids Public Museum in Michigan. The museum exhibit chronicles the company’s 125-year history in Grand Rapids and throughout North America – told through products, historical photos, timelines and vignettes. Founded in 1886, the company – headquarters and manufacturing operations – has remained on its original campus.
“We’re very pleased to be part of Grand Rapids’ and our country’s history,” American Seating Chairman/CEO Ed Clark said.
The company’s seating products touch every major city in the United States and Canada for public transportation – including New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia and Grand Rapids. The company’s architectural products are in such memorable venues as Radio City Music Hall in New York City, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, the University of Michigan’s The Big House in Ann Arbor, the Boston Red Sox’s beloved Fenway Park, the Chicago Cubs’ iconic Wrigley Field, the Detroit Tigers’ Comerica Park, the New Orleans Superdome, LSU and more. Read or download The History of Seating America at www.americanseating.com.
