Be­com­ing an icon

USM was founded in 1885 as an ironmongery and metalworking company. Its name is made up of the initials of its founder, Ulrich Schärer, and the first letter of Münsingen, its birth place and where they remain to this day. In the early decades of the twentieth century, USM specialised in window fittings, followed by ornamental hinges and precision-machined sheet steel.

Paul Schärer Jr. joined the company in 1961, marking three generations of the Schärer family management of USM. Having studied engineering at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, he was determined to update USM, starting with the factory and headquarters. He commissioned architect Fritz Haller to design a new factory and office pavilion utilising a steel modular construction system that was flexible, so it could easily be adapted to various manufacturing processes and industry changes.

In 1962, Haller and Schärer developed furniture to match the new buildings’ modularity and versatility. The furniture, like the buildings, was not built around individual parts but a system of steel modules that could be adapted and reconfigured to meet the current and future needs of the factory and offices. The design of the system is based on an elegant and ingenious ball connector, patented in 1965.

Initially intended for their own offices, the visionary system, combining unique aesthetic, versatility and durability quickly attracted attention. Commercial production and sale of the USM Haller system began in 1969 with an order for 600 workstations for the Rothschild bank in Paris. The furniture system quickly established itself in administration departments and offices around the world.

In 1988, USM Haller was recognised as a work of applied art for its visionary combination of technical finesse and outstanding design quality.

In the final decades of the twentieth century, USM spread its wings around the world, opening subsidiaries in Germany, France and the USA. The first USM showroom opened in Hamburg in 1998. In 1993, the fourth generation of the family, Alexander Schärer joined the company and was appointed CEO in 2000.

Today, USM is synonymous with timeless, sustainable design that evolves with our needs, generation after generation, whether in the workplace or at home. Its status as an icon of modern design was solidified in 2001 when it was included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.

The system is sustainable by nature. USM furniture is extremely long-lasting and is handed down from generation to generation. Steel is a highly recyclable material. The powder coating does not contain any solvents or heavy metals. USM was awarded Greenguard environmental certification in 2008 and received the Cradle-to-Cradle® environmental label in 2018. USM aims to become a fully circular company by 2030.

Alexander Schärer, the fourth generation of the family to join the company, took over in 2000. USM products are still manufactured in Münsingen. USM employs more than 400 people between its headquarters in Switzerland and subsidiaries in the USA, France, Germany, UK, Japan and China. The modular furniture systems are sold in 40 countries worldwide by 400 sales partners.

In this constantly changing world, USM Haller continues to innovate while remaining true to its iconic aesthetic. With light and energy embedded in its structure, USM Haller E is completely wireless, marking a revolutionary step into a new era. Then we have USM Haller lock C, an electromechanical locking system operated via app.

USM is evolving, its system is open, inviting users to continually challenge their own creativity.