Emeco's creations are renowned design 'sculptures'

To manufacture handcrafted aluminium chairs with history, craftsmanship, and utilitarian design is the mission of Emeco, a company founded in 1994 in Pennsylvania. Referred to by
Dinges as ‘sculptured masterworks’, Emeco chairs have become universal icons in the design community. And the designer has a fundamental role in the creation of Emeco’s products, which all are signed by such world-renowned designers as Frank Gehry, Philippe Starck, Sir Norman Foster, and Andrée Putman. Emeco chairs are based on the marriage of style and an exclusive 77-step manufacturing process. Emeco’s philosophy is rooted in the fact that the search for good design is as much part of the development process as is the forming, welding, and hand finishing of its products. All Emeco chairs are LEED™ compliant, made of 80% recycled material, and in addition, the chairs have an estimated lifespan of 150 years and a lifetime guarantee.
The passion of Emeco for aluminium isn't accidental. Emeco was founded following a collaborative project with Alcoa, to develop a seaworthy chair for military use in Navy submarines and warships. The resulting product was the 1006, an Emeco classic that sold a million pieces since its manufacture.
Subsequently, the U.S. government became the largest purchaser of the 1006 chairs following World War II through the 1970s. Eventually, the end of the cold war marked a significant decrease in the size of the U.S. military, and as a result, sales of the 1006 chair plummeted.
In 1998 Buchbinder purchased Emeco and refocused the company from a government contractor to architects, designers and retailers. A period of growth and development began, which led Emeco to the current figures: 75 employees and a turnover 10 million $ a year, with a 30% international distribution rate, spanning Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia.

Emeco and its designers
One of the closest working relationship of Emeco was that with Philippe Starck; together, they developed a full series of products, including the Hudson and Heritage chairs; in 2001, the Hudson chair was accepted into the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art of New York. In 2003, Starck also designed Kong, a barstool and chair, for the Kong restaurant in Paris.
The same year, Buchbinder began working with Frank Gehry to develop Superlight, an all-aluminum chair that flexes with the user. Gehry wanted to design a lightweight chair that combined comfort and strength. According to Gehry, «Aluminum was the obvious choice and Emeco was the only company that could make it». In 2004, the Superlight chair was accepted into the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Corcoran Gallery, IIT, and the Pinakotherk der Moderne in Munich.
In 2008 Emeco presented a new collection of chairs and stools designed by the Italian master, Ettore Sottsass. That same year, Emeco collaborated with Andrée Putman on a new chair for the iconic Morgana Hotel NYC; the Morgans chair was launched this year, in January in Paris and in April in Milan at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile.
Named for the project, Morgans is an all-aluminum side chair, tested to carry over 450 Kg, yet weighing only 3.2 Kg itself. Like all Emeco chairs, Morgans is made using a proprietary 77-Step process of 80% recycled aluminum and made at the historic Emeco factory in Hanover, Pennsylvania. Morgans is available in brushed/ anodized and hand polished finishes as well as gloss white and matte black powder coat.

Tuyomyo, an aluminium sculpture
Emeco and renowned architect Frank Gehry have signed together Tuyomyo, a one-of-a-kind large scale bench which was presented during the Salone del Mobile in April in Milan.
The final all-aluminum bench features a three meter hand polished wing of offset trapezoids supported by a brushed truss and weighs 55.3 Kg. To make the wing strong enough to cantilever over the truss and remain stable, Emeco cooperated with an aircraft part manufacturer with huge solution tempering furnaces that made it super strong (temper T652).
Tuyomyo bench, with a value of 250,000 US$, was auctioned in May, proceeds of which funded the Leslie Gehry Brenner Award of the Hereditary Disease Foundation (HDF).