American Seating Reveals Plans for New Headquarters 

AMERICAN SEATING, GRAND Rapids, MI, has revealed plans for its new corporate headquarters and manufacturing operations in Grand Rapids, seven miles from the site where the company has been located since its inception in 1886. 

American Seating is renovating an existing facility into a more than 210,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art hub for transportation-seating product design, manufacturing and speed to market. The work is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The company is in hiring mode in advance of the move, with new job growth tracking at seven percent in 2023 and expected to be an additional 10 percent by year end. 

“Our new headquarters and manufacturing plant is an important and significant commitment to our employees, our community, our customers and the transportation-seating industry,” said President and CEO Thomas Bush. “We’re excited to share these major plans for the next chapter in our history as a company.” 

Work includes uniting the office and manufacturing teams under one roof as well as bringing the office team to “the edge of the plant floor” and creating more integration and communication among the teams. The rectangular plant is being designed with a linear flow that will foster greater team collaboration and also accommodate new equipment and increased production capacity. The red American Seating “star” logo will be a prominent part of the exterior. 

The facility will feature product development and showcasing areas, meeting and training areas, an expansive café / break room with 20-foot-high glass walls letting in natural light as well as doors leading to an adjacent outdoor relaxation area, and ample on-site parking. There will be views of the entire design and manufacturing process from a mezzanine balcony that is being constructed. 

“Having this vantage point to literally see how our products are made from start to finish will be fantastic for training our employees and for demonstrating our quality process to customers,” said Bush.