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Herman Miller was awarded the Best of Competition, the top prize for The Best of NeoCon 2006 competition of contract furnishing products during NeoCon in Chicago. 79 awards were distributed in total, including 3 Innovation Awards and 12 Editors’ Choice Awards.

Each year, commercial furnishings manufacturers await the coveted announcements for “The Best of NeoCon” Awards. The industry itself, times new introductions for NeoCon^® World’s Trade Fair, the contract furnishings industry’s premier event and North America’s largest conference for interior design and facilities management annually held in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart.

A record number of 357 products, entered in 36 product and furnishing categories, were submitted to vy for recognition as innovative new designs in consideration as the Best of NeoCon, now in its 17^th year. The competition is sponsored by Contract magazine, Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc., The International Interior Design Association (IIDA), The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) and McMorrowReport.com.

Winners are selected, the Sunday evening before NeoCon, by a jury of 54 individuals who are IIDA and IFMA members. The 10 jury teams visited each product in person while manufacturers or product designers had the opportunity to showcase their product and answer jurors’ questions.

Herman Miller for My Studio Environments in Furniture Systems Category

designed by Douglas Ball

Cabas USA/Toulouse – Seating:Guest

Cf stinson/The Michael Graves Crypton Collection – Textiles:Upholstery

Keihauer/Sguig – Seating:Ergonomic Desk/Task

Brayton Internation/Oom – Alternative Office

Constantine Commercial/Sustillian recycled vinyl flooring - Flooring

Egan/Eganwall Prsentation Wallcovering – Office Accessories

Halcon/Medio Training and Conference Tables – Tables:Training

InterfaceFLOR Commercial/the 1968 Collection – Carpet:Modular

Keilhauer/Sguig – Seating:Ergonomic Desk/Task – Seating:Ergonomic Desk/Task

Lea North America/Studies – Architectural Products

Lees Carpets/Design Studio – Menswear Collection

Legacy Furniture Group/California Collection – Healthcare Furniture

Leland International/Lacrosse Chair – Seating: Guest

Turion Bamboo Traders/Strandwoven Furniture Board – Architectural Products

Wolf-Gordon/Surface Over Structure – Wall Treatments

3form/100% - Surfacing Materials

Allsteel Inc./Merge – Tables: Conference

Anthro Corporation/eNook – Alternative Office

Bernhardt Design/Suzanne Trocme – Seating Collection – Seating:Sofas & Lounge

C&A/Beneath the Surface Collection – Carpet: Modular

Cabot Wrenn/Tenure – Seating:Guest

Constantine/Sustillian Recycled Vinyl Flooring – Flooring

Designtex/ABC’s Collection – Healthcare Textiles

Egan Visual, Inc./Egan Wall Presentation Wallcovering – Office Accessories

FreeAxez USA/Free Axez 40, FreeAxez70 – Workplace Technologies

Gianni, Inc./Metallo – Casegoods/Desks/Credenzas

Hafele/Ellipta – Technology Support

HBF/LOGICmeet Occasional Tables Series – Tables: Occasional

Herman Miller, Inc./Leaf – Lighting

Humanscale/Access Rail – Furniture Systems: Enhancements

Industrias Riviera/Axis – Architectural Products

Innovations/Window Walls – Textiles: Drapery/Shade

Inscape Corporation/Storwal by Office Specialty – Files & Storage

Interstuhl BuromobelGmbH & Co. KG/Seating: Ergonomic Desk/Task

Invista/Antron Brilliance carpet fiber – Carpet: Fiber

Izzydesign/HAG Convention Wing – Seating: Stacking

KnollTextiles/Dorothy Cosonas Collection – Textiles: Upholstery

KnollTextiles/Palladium and Hard Rock – Textiles: Panel

KR Moeller Associates LTD/LogiSon Remote Manager Software – Software Technologies

Nucraft/Discovery – Conference Room Furniture

Nurture by Steelcase/Opus – Healthcare Furniture

Set Wallcovering Systems/System One by Grant Design Collaborative – Wall Treatments

Shaw Contract Group/Silk – Carpet: Broadloom

Vecta/x-Stack – Education Solutions

Versteel/Improptu – Tables: Training

Bentley Prince Street/Urban Tribe Collection – Carpet:Broadloom

Boyd Lighting/Farinelli Chandelier – Lighting

Carnegie/Emoticon – Healthcare Textiles

Carnegie/Sheer Technology – Textiles:Drapery/Shade

Colebrook Bosson Saunders/Giselle gas powered flat screen arm – Technology Support

Davis Furniture Industries, Inc./Kirkos Chair Series – Seating:Guest

Decca Contract/Basis: Enhancements & Extensions – Casegoods/Desks/Credenzas

Designtex and Milliken/180 Walls – Wall Treatments

Geiger International/Foray – Seating:Ergonomic Desk/Task

Halcon/Medio Training and Conference – Tables:Training

Haworth, Inc./Canvas – Software Technologies

Haworth, Inc./Patterns – Furniture Systems

HBF Textiles/Trace Collection – Textiles: Panel

Industrias Riviera/3075 – Walls Moveable

Industrias Riviera/Axis – Furniture Systems: Enhancements

Keilhauer/Tablett – Seating:Sofas & Lounge

Kittinger Furniture/Custom Conference Table KT2006-011 – Conference Rm Furniture

KI/Solstice – Healthcare Furniture

K.R. Moeller Associates Ltd./LogiSon Acoustic Network, V2 – Workplace Technologies

Lamm for Sedia Systems/Runner – Education Systems

Luna Textiles/Urban Couture Collection – Textiles:Upholstery

Milliken Contract/Foreign Intrigue – Carpet: Modular

Nienkamper Furniture & Accessories Inc./SilverPro Collection – Office Accessories

Nienkamper Furniture & Accessories Inc./ Vox FlipTop - Tables:Conference

Nucraft/Shine – Tables:Occasional

Schneller Inc./Veritas ResinArt Panels – Architectural Products

Spacesaver Corporation/Eclipse Powered System – Files & Storage

Stylex/Avo – Seating: Stacking

Tayco/Up – Alternative Office

Turion Bamboo Traders/Strandwover Bamboo Flooring – Flooring

- NeoCon Awards Recognize State-of-the-Art Product Design, Technology Innovation, and Environmental Sustainability -

CHICAGO, June 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Steelcase Inc. (NYSE: SCS), a global office environments manufacturer, today announced that the Steelcase family of companies was honored with six Best of NeoCon 2006 awards. Products recognized range from seating designs, solutions for the education and healthcare markets, and new textile and wall treatments, which are all on display at this year's NeoCon 2006 World's Trade Fair for Interior Design and Facilities Management in Chicago.

"We are honored to receive these prestigious industry awards and to be recognized for our dedication to advancing the office furniture industry," said Jim Hackett, president and CEO of Steelcase Inc. "Each year Steelcase and its family of companies work diligently to create products that incorporate the latest in design, technology and sustainability."

Best of NeoCon 2006

Sponsored by Contract magazine, the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI) and the McMorrow Report, the Best of NeoCon awards recognize the top new products displayed at NeoCon. Steelcase Inc. received a total of six Best of NeoCon Awards, taking home four Gold awards, one Silver, and an Innovation Award.

Among the recipients of the Gold awards is Nurture by Steelcase, which won in the Healthcare Solutions category for Opus casegoods. Nurture is a new organization that brings a holistic viewpoint to healthcare environments and works with doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals to gain valuable insight into environments that promote healing. Recognizing that every hospital and clinic is different and requires furniture solutions designed for their specific needs, Nurture created Opus casegoods, which combines the convenience of traditional freestanding casegoods with the flexibility of modular furniture. Opus casegoods can be combined in multiple configurations including storage, seating, display, and even a sink unit to support various activities in healthcare facilities. The design allows for flexibility to adapt to changing needs.

Steelcase Design Partnership companies were honored with three Gold awards. Vecta received two Gold awards -- one for x-Stack(TM) in the Educational Solutions category and one for Permiso(TM) in the Seating: Conference Rooms category; and Designtex took home a Gold award for its ABC's Collection in the Healthcare Textiles category.

Vecta's x-Stack creates a systems approach to stack seating and is focused on soft comfort, durability and user accommodations. Through a unique systems approach to accessories, x-Stack caters to the student, trainee or dinner guest with a right or left-handed tablet, a patent-pending ambidextrous monopod for laptop use, and a cup holder. x-Stack, which is 100 percent recyclable, is ideal for classrooms, training rooms, public areas, recession areas and cafes.

The name Permiso best states the intent of the chair by the same name; permission to sit the way you want to sit. Research shows that people constantly shift while seated, yet most conference chairs do not naturally allow users to achieve their desired postures. Designed by IDEO for Vecta, Permiso accommodates natural posture shifts through four unique features including a folding arm option, a continuous back and arm, recessed arms and a chair back that is the ideal height for an arm rest. Permiso brings comfort to casual conference and informal teaming applications.

The ABC's Collection by Designtex is designed to meet the performance requirements of healthcare environments as well as incorporate nature, which is increasingly being considered an essential element of the healing process. The Collection has four distinct, visually-rich patterns that are inspired by natural elements such as shifting sand and tree bark (Amuse), shimmering water (Bliss), sparking sunlight on leafy branches (Calm), and intertwining honeycombs (Sooth). Integrated into this healthcare collection are four high performance textiles, two of which are also sustainable.

Designtex also received a Silver award for 180 Walls(TM) in the Wall Treatments category. 180 Walls is an environmentally-friendly, self-adhesive wall covering comprised of 100 percent recycled polyester with a pressure sensitive adhesive backing that eliminates the use of paste. Ideal for high traffic areas in healthcare and hospitality facilities, 180 Walls enables spaces to remain functional during installation. The adhesive backing also allows for no shrinkage or corner peel, contributing to its durability. In addition, 180 Walls can be removed at the end of its useful life without damage to the wall.

Additionally, an Innovation award was given to Brayton International for Oom(TM) in the Alternative Office category. Expanding upon Brayton's existing Masters Collections, the company introduced its first design from a young master, Matthew Weatherly. Oom ottoman with casters and hand-crafted solid maple coat rack is a modern form that translates practical simplicity for traditional uses. The soft upholstered mobile ottoman serves as a sitting spot that can be easily moved from one location to another. This ottoman serves many applications -- an office companion, library niche seat or assembled in a lobby. Oom is best presented in gatherings of two or more.

The Best of NeoCon 2006 awards were selected from 370 entries in 36 different product categories.

About Steelcase Inc.

Steelcase, the global leader in the office furniture industry, helps people have a better work experience by providing products, services and insights into the ways people work. The company designs and manufactures architecture, furniture and technology products. Founded in 1912 and headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Steelcase (NYSE: SCS) serves customers through a network of more than 800 independent dealers and approximately 13,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2006 revenue was $2.9 billion. Learn more at http://www.steelcase.com.

SOURCE:
Steelcase Inc.