USM Haller: the Swiss modular furniture system that has been in production unchanged since 1965
USM was founded in 1885 as a metalworking shop in Bern. The USM Haller modular furniture system, designed by Fritz Haller in 1963, is now in MoMA's permanent collection and is still produced from the original factory. Here's the short story.
USM Haller listings are a particular favourite of our curation team. The modular system means every listing is configurable, which makes our authentication and condition reports more detailed than for fixed pieces.
USM (Ulrich Schärer Münsingen) was founded in 1885 in Münsingen, Switzerland, as a metalworking shop producing window fittings and locks. The transformation came in 1961 when Paul Schärer Jr. commissioned the Swiss architect Fritz Haller to design a new headquarters and office furniture system for USM's own use. The system Haller designed, the USM Haller modular furniture, went into commercial production in 1965 and has been continuously produced from the same factory in Münsingen ever since.
The USM Haller system is a kit of three components: chrome-plated steel balls with six threaded holes (the connectors), chrome-plated steel tubes (the structural members), and powder-coated metal panels (the surfaces). With those three components, you can build almost any storage configuration: lowboards, highboards, room dividers, desks, shelves, sideboards.
The system is in MoMA's permanent collection. It is, depending on how you count, the longest continuously-produced furniture design in history without modification (the Stool 60 has a similar claim but has had subtle production updates).
What to look for on the secondhand market: USM Haller is one of the easiest brands to buy secondhand because the system is component-based and components are interchangeable. A 1975 USM Haller lowboard and a 2025 USM Haller lowboard share the same connectors, the same panels, and the same dimensions. You can buy used pieces and extend them with new components, or vice versa.
Authentic USM Haller pieces carry a USM stamp on the underside of one panel, on the connector balls, or on the cable management plates. Counterfeits exist (mostly Chinese copies sold under generic "modular cabinet" labels) and are usually obvious from the connector ball: real USM connectors are chrome-plated steel with six precisely-threaded holes; copies are typically lighter alloys with less precise threading.
Vintage USM Haller lowboards from the 1980s and 90s sell on Whoppah at €600 to €2,200 depending on size and configuration. Current USM retail for an equivalent new piece is €2,800 to €4,800. The secondhand premium is real, and used pieces are functionally identical to new ones, which makes USM one of the most rational secondhand buys in the entire system.
