But it's Gregg's charm and enthusiasm that have helped turn Emeco around. Last year, for the first time in more than 20 years, the company posted a profit and paid a bonus to its employees. In addition to polished aluminum, the standard Emeco line is now available in seven colors. The 1006 chair was used in a prison scene in the film The Matrix and appears regularly in design magazines, on television shows, and in fashion layouts. Here they were only manufacturing one line of furniture, the same furniture that was made more than a half century ago.
Most manufacturers turn out eight or nine different lines.
Until Gregg came along, we didn't even know that Emeco was still in business. Buchbinder and his father both recognize that a line of furniture created in the 1940s for the Navy can very easily become yesterday's fashion item. Although the 1006 looks like it's produced in a mold, it bears the imprint of experienced craftsmen. No two Emeco chairs are the same. The choice of the flamboyant French designer isn't as far-fetched as it sounds.