About Us
At Virco, we’re committed to providing the best selection of Equipment for Educators™.
As America’s leading manufacturer and supplier of furniture and equipment for K-12 schools, Virco employs approximately 700 people nationwide. Our 560,000 square-foot Torrance, California headquarters features a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, as does our Conway, Arkansas location, which has approximately 1,750,000 square feet of operational space. Large distribution centers in Torrance and Conway facilitate the quick, efficient shipment of Virco products.
Our Story
1950
Virco is founded by Julian Virtue in Los Angeles, California.
1954
Virco acquires the Dunn Furniture Company in Conway, Arkansas, increasing manufacturing capacity and reducing the costs of shipping products to our customers in the eastern United States.
1964
Virco goes public.
1965
The Iconic 9000 Series Chair is marketed. It was the first chair in the school industry to have a one-piece plastic seat. We have estimated over 65 million 9000 Series Chairs have been sold.
1970
Growth and innovation; Virco becomes America’s leading manufacturer of school furniture.
1989
Virco’s recycling program gets started with three items: scrap metal, hydraulic oil and paper. Today, our program includes over 40 items.
1993
Virco’s Cash for Cardboard program is introduced to help schools reap the benefits of recycling cardboard.
1993
Virco begins sponsoring ASBO International Pinnacle Awards, honoring school business officials for their ingenuity and creative thinking.
2001
Virco takes the automation lessons learned in Torrance, California and expands with a new ground-up 1.2 million square foot facility in Conway, Arkansas.
2002
Virco is honored to receive the Evergreen Award from the General Services Administration (GSA) for outstanding waste reduction and recycling achievements.
2002
Virco acquires Furniture Focus, a school furniture and equipment reseller, leading to the introduction of Virco PlanSCAPE®.
2003
After earning several awards through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise program, Virco was selected as a charter member of the EPA’s WasteWise Hall of Fame.
2004
ZUMA® Series and ZUMA® Series Rocking Chairs are introduced to promote healthy movement in the classroom.
2005
ZUMA® and ZUMAfrd™ became the first classroom furniture product lines to earn GREENGUARD indoor air quality certification through the GREENGUARD for Children and Schools program.
2006
Virco’s launches Take-Back program to help schools recycle out-of-service furniture, especially wood, plastic and compression-molded components that most recyclers won’t accept.
2017
Room To Move® Collection, including the innovative floor rocker, R2M and C2M chairs, launches at EDspaces and the Choose-to-Move 4-Leg Chair wins the IIDA EDspaces Innovation Award.
2019
U.S. EPA Recognizes Virco Manufacturing as WasteWise Winner for Reducing Waste.
2022
Topaz® Series, a unique line of stylish yet functional furniture designed with teachers with mind, launches.
From our earliest days, product development has been a key to Virco′s growth. After getting started in 1950 as a furniture supplier for Los Angeles-area schools, the addition of folding chairs, folding tables and other items soon helped expand our sales to a broadening customer base. More recently, we′ve worked with accomplished designers – like Peter Glass, Bob Mills and Richard Holbrook – to develop products for emerging applications.
Because customer service is our top priority, Virco maintains a nationwide direct sales team and supports a growing dealer network. Our complete spectrum of support services include: three tiers of product delivery; installation and repair; and the comprehensive PlanSCAPE® service, which helps educational administrators successfully manage large-scale furniture and equipment purchases while saving time and money – and avoiding stress – in the process. In addition, Virco now has a dynamic Take-Back program, enabling schools to recycle their out-of-service furniture components rather than sending these items to a landfill.
Virco’s primary customer base is Education including; preschool – 12th Grade; junior and community colleges; four-year colleges and universities; trade, technical and vocational schools. In addition, Virco is a leading furniture and equipment supplier for convention centers and arenas; banquet and meeting facilities; federal, state, county and municipal government facilities; places of worship.
Virco® is registered at the U.S Patent and Trademark Office. Product and service names used on this site are trademarks used by Virco.
Virco®, Analogy®, Civitas®, Core-a-Gator®, Furniture That Fits®, Future Access®, I.Q.®, Lunada®, Martest 21®, Metaphor®, Metonymy®, Parameter®, Parison®, PlanSCAPE®, Plateau®, Primary Collection®, Room to Move®, Sigma®, SledCombo®, Sure Edge®, Telos®, TEXT®, Topaz®, Virtuoso®, and ZUMA® are registered at the U.S Patent and Trademark office. Sage™, Tetra™, Textameter™, Ultrastack™, ZUMAfrd™, Equipment for Educators™, The Classic Series™, Fortified Recycled Wood™ and Comfort Stacker™ are trademarks of Virco Mfg. Corporation.