Furniture firm expands here following Forrer shutdown
A Chicago office furniture firm is expanding its operations to Milwaukee and will be the area’s authorized Steelcase Inc. dealer in the wake of the abrupt closing of Forrer Business Interiors.
Forward Space LLC said Monday that it is temporarily working out of the Hudson Business Lounge in the Historic Third Ward. The company plans to hire about 20 people in Milwaukee and is looking for space here for a showroom, possibly in the Third Ward or the area just to the south.
Steelcase approached Forward about expanding to Milwaukee following Forrer’s sudden shutdown early this month , said Jerry Schiro, Forward Space’s marketing manager. He said the firm would take over at least some of the Steelcase-related projects left hanging by Forrer.
Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Steelcase describes itself as the world’s largest office furniture manufacturer.
Forward Space has named Elizabeth Lewis, a former Forrer executive, to lead its Milwaukee team. Lewis was Forrer’s vice president of business development, according to her LinkedIn page.
Forward Space is “definitely open” to hiring other former Forrer employees but won’t necessarily look exclusively to the defunct firm to staff the new operation, Schiro said.
Fifty-eight people lost their jobs when Forrer of Glendale notified state officials on the afternoon of Aug. 2 that it would close permanently at the end of the day. Such notices are required 60 days before a company actually closes or carries out a mass layoff.
The company said it was shutting down “due to a sudden and unforeseen change in business circumstances.”
What those circumstances might be remains unknown. Unlike many companies that go under, Forrer was not the target of any civil lawsuits when it closed. In fact, the company has not been named as a defendant in state courts since at least 1999, the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access site shows.