Today, Forward Space, LLC, an independent office furniture dealership, was approved to expand its operations to become the authorized Steelcase dealer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Forward Space is a large Steelcase dealer in the Chicagoland Area that has committed its full resources and capabilities to serve the Milwaukee office interiors marketplace.

The expansion into the Milwaukee area come in the wake of the abrupt closing of Forrer Business Interiors earlier in the month. Forrer was a Steelcase dealer.

Steelcase approached Forward about expanding to Milwaukee following Forrer’s sudden shutdown early this month, said Jerry Schiro, Forward’s marketing manager. He said Forward would take over at least some of the Steelcase-related projects left hanging by Forrer.

Forward is “definitely open” to hiring other former Forrer employees but won’t necessarily look exclusively to the defunct firm to staff the new operation, Schiro told the journal sentinel.

“We are thrilled to move forward in Milwaukee. We plan to leverage the strength and stability of our Chicago enterprise to provide the best service available, while also hiring approximately 20 Milwaukee team members to be led by local industry expert Elizabeth Lewis,” states Jenny Niemann, principal owner and CEO of Forward Space. “We are proud to represent the Steelcase brand in Milwaukee, providing our customers with engaging spaces and environments inspired by advanced research, insights and innovative products,” says Niemann.

Elizabeth Lewis, VP of Sales for Forward Space, says “We’re looking to open our own new office in the 3rd Ward district. From there, our goal is to collaborate with clients and the architecture and design community to create great spaces while making the complex process of furniture selection, procurement and logistics simple.”