HON Furniture; WWII Roots
At Trouble Free Keys, we probably make more keys for HON file cabinets than the other brands we cut keys for. But what is HON? How did the company start out? If you are like me, you probably don't think too much about the history of the companies you purchase products from. Maybe we should! If we look into the roots of a company, we can see how they have changed over the years and how their products stand the test of time.
What we now know as HON was dreamed 
up in 1944 as the Home-O-Nize Company in Iowa. The purpose of the new venture was to provide jobs to returning servicemen from WWII. With soldiers back from the war, unemployment would be high and construction of new homes would be needed. A new company with the idea of employing former soldiers with an emphasis on good relationships between the employees and management and making kitchen cabinets and appliances was a good plan.
Guess what the first product out of the new Hom-O-Nize Company was? That's right! It was an aluminum hood used in installing commercial gas at farms, residences, and businesses! ...okay, you probably didn't guess that based on what the original plans were. But that's okay. A steel shortage in the mid-1940's caused the company to look to aluminum and then get contracts making these types of hoods.
When cutting an aluminum hood, you need a large piece of sheet metal, giving the company quite a bit of scraps. With these scraps, the Home-O-Nize Company sold metal coasters, markers for garden plants, and recipe file boxes. Throughout these early years the primary focus was on employee relations and contracts with large businesses such as Stamping, Inc, John Deere, and Bell Aircraft Company all with manufacturing aluminum parts.
As the demand grew for the small "scrap," products they were producing in the 1950's, The Home-O-Nize Company started making larger file boxes that offices would purchase as well as coat racks, safes, and file cabinets. This new line of office products was the HON line. By the end of the 1950's, the primary focus could shift to office products designed and manufactured to be sold wholesale.
Like any company, HON saw it's share of tough years, loss, layoffs, change and change again and still survived. From 1972 to 1985 their sales increased 10-fold and they became a Fortune 500 company. It was the mid-1980's when HON was also known as the fastest producer in the world with the ability to turn out a desk and a chair in less than 2 minutes! I think I can make a key in less than two minutes, but a desk and a chair...wow!
This efficiency made HON successful enough to purchase other companies in design and technology over the next decade. In addition to selling to major corporations and offices, HON was able to produce lower priced office furniture and file cabinets for the work-at-home market, selling these items at places like Office Depot, Costco, and Sams Club.
Perhaps this is why we cut more HON keys than others most days. HON is more readily available to the small business owner and person who works at home. More than that, HON has reflected integrity and quality for over 75 years in the industry that started to provide a place for American veterans home from World War II. HON - A truly American company.