SUNAR-HAUSERMAN, INC., formerly Hauserman, Inc., a leading producer of movable interior walls, was founded by Earl F. Hauserman, who bought out part of the building supplies dealer for whom he worked and organized the E. F. Hauserman Co. on 24 Mar. 1913. The company manufactured and installed finished, ready-to-use steel sashes—an innovation which produced an initial boom in sales. From this beginning the firm, at 6800 Grant Ave., developed and manufactured movable interior steel partitions, becoming their exclusive producer by 1927.
After making prefabricated steel houses and aircraft parts for the government during WORLD WAR II, Hauserman's sons, Fred M. and William F., returned to the production of movable interior steel walls and organized a network of direct sales offices. The company built a new plant on Grant Ave. in 1958, acquired a steel ceiling firm the following year, and by the early 1960s had expanded their sales into Canada and Europe through subsidiaries. Hauserman enlarged its product line through acquisitions to include office-system design and the production of wood and steel office furniture. Keeping pace with its growth, the company reorganized as Hauserman, Inc., in 1972, with the E. F. Hauserman Co. as its U.S. subsidiary.
The firm acquired Sunar, a Canadian office furniture manufacturer and designer in 1978, a move which increased its sales to a record $135.7 million in 1982. By merging its 2 North American subsidiaries in 1983, the company became Sunar-Hauserman, Inc., with 8 plants and over 60 sales offices.
During the 1980s, increased competition and shrinking profit margins adversely affected the firm's business and it reported a loss of $7.6 million in 1987. By 1989 a continued sluggish economy had taken its toll on the Cleveland corporation, forcing it out of business.
Finding Aid for the E. F. HAUSERMAN COMPANY RECORDS, Photographs, and Audio Materials, WRHS.
Finding Aid for the E. F. HAUSERMAN COMPANY RECORDS, Series II, WRHS.