Company removes ‘Made in China’ desks after contract flap

IONIA, Mich. — A company has removed Chinese-made office furniture it delivered to a Michigan courthouse following a six-month legal battle with officials who wanted American-made products. The (Greenville) Daily News reports that Custom Office Systems removed the unwanted desks, many of them faulty, were on Monday from the Ionia County Courthouse. The Ionia-based company earlier this year delivered the desks in boxes clearly marked “Made in China” along with some American-made furniture. County commissioners in April went with Custom’s $41,862 bid over a rival’s $33,739 offer based on the promise that the furniture would be made in the U.S. Commissioners demanded the Chinese-made furniture be replaced with American-made products and in June voted to end Custom’s contract and accepted the rival’s bid.