The office furniture cluster that has dominated the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland MSA for so many decades is emblematic of an economy that in 2003 saw 23 percent of wages and salaries go toward manufacturing jobs, at approximately 2,300 firms. The MSA saw a 20-percent rise in population and a 68-percent rise in average household income between 1990 and 2003.
      In Holland, Haworth Inc. is moving manufacturing and distribution operations back home from four states, meaning 185 jobs in the short term and around 800 more over the next 12 years. Dennis Boles, Haworth's director of global facilities, says lean was the operative word in the industry the past few years.
      "In 2001, there was a 40-to-45-percent decline," he says, which was better than average that year, but not enough to prevent large job losses for the company and the industry's supplier base. The company had just opened a plant in Jonesboro, Arkansas, in 1999, but by early 2004, despite cuts and manufacturing consolidations, the company still had far too much capacity. By some fortuitous timing, says Boles, the state of Michigan at that time was shifting its emphasis from attracting new companies to retaining the companies it had.
      "We had a productive discussion [with the state], and they offered a robust package," says Boles of the July 2004 decision to bring 250 jobs back to the area. The Holland renovation will take place late in 2005, with both a headquarters facelift and significant equipment and productive

Michigan Economic Dev.Corp. www.michigan.org Michigan Manufacturers Assn. www.mma-net.org The Right Place (Grand Rapids) www.rightplace.org

capacity growth. Part of the decision to consolidate in Holland was driven by the ability to attract and retain professional employees.
      The move comes at a time when Haworth's business, like its rival's, is definitely up. It comes at the same time as a fundamental shift in the strategy of the company, from just furniture to the whole scope of architectural interiors such as raised floor, wall and lighting systems. That shift has occurred simultaneously with key acquisitions like Smed International, headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, and, in 2003, Interface's raised floor division.
      As company strategy evolves to address the very nature of work space, Boles finds his internally focused expertise called upon quite frequently by other, externally focused areas of the company.
      "Our business is about what I do," he says, mentioning his judging of an AIA chapter competition in Alabama and his meetings with visiting design teams. "The way we build buildings has to change." He describes how companies can now build out interiors and then, as the organization changes, arrange new configurations. He says sustainability and LEED are already becoming more commonplace, and predicts that sustainable environments will see 50-percent market share in the next four years, comparing its effects on work space to that of ADA compliance. He cites a recent study by Gregory Katz that found, in just over 30 LEED projects, a cost premium of only 1.8 percent, with much of that composed of administering LEED itself.
      Helping to further the LEED case is the fact that the first LEED project is always the most expensive, and subsequent projects can see parity or even a cost advantage. Adding in the effects of a more productive work environment, including savings on lost time, makes the case that much more airtight. And he sees the result every day."Two years ago, you hardly saw it," he says of sustainability as a criteria. "Now half of the bids want to know a sustainability cost."
      Judging from the experiences and growth at Steelcase and Haworth, as sustainability evolves, the economic sustainability of Western Michigan's furniture manufacturing cluster does too.