Legend has it that Wilton Dinges, who founded Emeco in 1944, tested the strength of a 1006 Navy Chair by tossing it out a sixth-story window. The people on the sidewalk below were a bit surprised, but the chair was fine, with the exception of a few scratches. Today, Emeco still uses the same 77-step process that Dinges perfected 70 years ago to satisfy the military’s need for lightweight, corrosion-resistant chairs for destroyers and submarines. The company’s proprietary metal processing method yields aluminum three times stronger than steel – and a chair so durable that it has an estimated life span of 150 years.
