T
he contract furniture industry lost one of its great innovators today when George Gasser, one of three founding brothers of Gasser Chair Company, died at age 80 in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio.
George and two of his brothers, Louis and Roger, started working in the hospitality industry in the mid-1940’s when they discovered the benefits of an inexpensive material: aluminum. The three men began providing services to local businesses in Youngstown such as assembling aluminum storm windows and screens, welding aluminum beer kegs and fabricating parts for custom helicopter prototypes. Eventually, this work led them to create and manufacture their own product line of aluminum-framed dinette sets which quickly became a success in the contract/hospitality trade. While George did not have luck selling his products in residential markets, he found restaurant owners and developers were immediately attracted to the highly-durable and lightweight chairs.
In the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, Gasser Chair Company continued to develop the aluminum frame concept and introduced a flexible, aluminum bracket to connect a seat and backrest for better comfort, leading to the Comfort Zone® seating line which was the hospitality industry's first seating with a flexible backrest. George and his company continued to innovate and offer solutions to many of the problems created by high traffic levels in hospitality and gaming environments. For example, to solve the problem of excess wear along a chair’s perimeter, George designed and patented a specially-extruded vinyl edging to guard against such damage, and the company subsequently introduced the Protective Edge on its entire seating line which is now known as the Trademark Collection.
Over the last 50 years, Gasser Chair Company has evolved into a leading supplier of chairs for the contract furniture industry, and still remains family-owned. In recent years, Gasser Chair Company has continued to introduce new products such as the KL Series, a line of stackable designer chairs. The business has grown through such introductions as well as acquisitions like that of Quality Seating Company which helped Gasser expand its product line with the ability to engineer, design and manufacture custom booth seating.
An active member of the hospitality community, George served on various boards including the Club Managers Association of America and the National Restaurant Association. George is survived by his wife; Janet, 80; his eight children; Gary Gasser, April Kerceck, Cheryl Biziano, Cindy Gasser, Doreen Bures, Mark Gasser, Scott Gasser and Louie Gasser; 18 immediate grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. George was the last surviving among his brothers (Dr. Louis Gasser and Roger Gasser, co-founders of Gasser Chair Company, and Marcel Gasser who died in infancy) and a sister, Nathalie Gasser, also deceased.
While the hospitality seating business took much of George’s time and passion, he also enjoyed collecting antique cars. But his most beloved pastime and "reason for living," as one of his grandchildren said, was family. He organized countless family gatherings and loved being surrounded by his children and grandchildren. George spent all the time he could with his larger-than-life family, and while they are dispersed throughout various regions of America, many of them have reconvened in Youngstown to celebrate his life.
Calling hours and funeral services will take place this coming weekend in Youngstown.