lfi (library furniture international)

What lfi (library furniture international) does

Library Furniture International LLC, operating as LFI Education, is a privately held Illinois-based furniture distributor and custom millwork provider specializing in K-12 school libraries and educational spaces. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Wheeling, Illinois, with a secondary office in Ankeny, Iowa, the company maintains two go-to-market brands: LFI Education (lfieducation.com) targeting K-12 schools and Library Furniture International (libraryfurnitureinternational.com) targeting public libraries. Its core offering spans steel and wood shelving, circulation/student/teacher desks, study and lounge seating, modular seating systems, height-adjustable and maker tables, and display products — assembled from a multi-brand catalog of third-party manufacturers (Estey, Mediatechnologies, Leland International, Allermuir, Falcon, KI, Nienkamper, Arcadia, 9to5 Seating, Worden, True, 3branch, TMC, etc.) and supplemented by in-house custom millwork including end panels, canopy tops, and bespoke circulation desks.

The company generates revenue through direct hardware sales of furniture and shelving systems, with quote-based pricing and order placement via its e-commerce website. Sales motion is sales-led, supplemented by the TIPS (The Interlocal Purchasing System) national purchasing cooperative contract (#230301), which allows education, government, and nonprofit agencies to procure LFI products without separate bid processes — a meaningful procurement advantage in the K-12 vertical. Select products carry GREENGUARD Gold, SCS Indoor Advantage Gold, and BIFMA LEVEL 2 certifications to address institutional sustainability and indoor-air-quality requirements. The company supports purchasing decisions through capacity-planning tools, space-planning questionnaires, and a project gallery showcasing completed school library installations across Illinois, Iowa, and the broader Midwest. Marketing channels include the company website, email newsletter, and organic social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest). No revenue, headcount, funding, or executive leadership data is disclosed in the source material.

Name

lfi (library furniture international)

Legal name

Library Furniture International LLC

Website

https://lfieducation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Library Furniture International (LFI Education) is a privately held Illinois-based distributor and custom millwork provider that designs, sells, and installs shelving, desks, seating, tables, and display furniture for K-12 school libraries and educational spaces across the Midwest, operating via direct sales and the TIPS national purchasing cooperative.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational and Library Furniture

NAICS

Showcase, Partition, Shelving, and Locker Manufacturing (337215)

SIC

Wholesale-Furniture & Home Furnishings (5020)

akta.pro primary industry

Library & Media Center Furniture & Equipment (Shelving, Carts, Media Hardware) (EDAEAIAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Library & Institutional Supplies Distribution (CRAOALAL)

Keywords

• Library furniture
• School shelving
• Educational furniture
• Media center furnishing
• Library shelving systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Wheeling

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Furniture and Shelving Product Sales: LFI generates revenue through the sale of library and school furniture, shelving systems, and related products. Products include steel shelving, wood shelving, desks, seating, tables, and display units. Orders are placed online directly through the company's website.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

LFI Education designs, sells, and installs shelving and furniture for K-12 school libraries and media centers. The catalog spans steel and wood shelving, student/teacher/circulation desks, study and lounge seating, modular furniture, maker tables, and display products, with both standard SKUs and custom millwork options. Schools purchase via the lfieducation.com website or through the TIPS national purchasing cooperative contract (#230301).

Product overview

LFI (Library Furniture International) operates lfieducation.com as a comprehensive school library and educational furniture provider, not a unified software platform. The product portfolio comprises physical furniture and shelving solutions organized into five main categories: Shelving (steel and wood shelving in various configurations including flat shelves, browsing bins, and display units); Desks (student desks like Alba and Clara, teacher/staff desks including Instruct and Kurve, circulation/reception desks); Seating (study chairs such as Marquette and InFlex, collaborative seating like Dotti and Puddle stools, lounge chairs including Engage and Fred, modular seating systems like Brighton and Raven); Tables (maker tables including Maker Flex, laptop and study tables such as Sampson and Penny, training tables like Medley); and Display products (acrylic displays, mobile display cubes, wall displays including mosaic boards). Many products feature casters for mobility, height-adjustability, and reconfigurable designs to support flexible learning environments. The company sources products from multiple manufacturers including Estey, Mediatechnologies, Leland International, Allermuir, Falcon, and others, offering both standard catalog items and custom furniture solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• TIPS (The Interlocal Purchasing System)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTIPS is a national purchasing cooperative that offers competitively solicited contracts to education, government, and nonprofit agencies. LFI operates under TIPS Contract #230301, allowing schools to purchase furniture without separate bid processes.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Russwood Library Furniture: Russwood specializes in wood library shelving and furniture for schools and public libraries, comparable to LFI's wood shelving and custom millwork offerings.
• Highsmith (Capstone): Highsmith, now part of Capstone, supplies library furniture, shelving, and media-center products to schools and public libraries—closely comparable to LFI's library furniture focus.
• MooreCo: MooreCo manufactures and distributes educational and library furniture including mobile and modular shelving, directly competing with LFI in K-12 library environments.
• School Specialty: School Specialty is a broad educational products distributor with a furniture division serving K-12 schools, overlapping directly with LFI on classroom and library furniture procurement.
• Demco: Demco is a direct competitor offering library furniture, shelving, and educational supplies to K-12 schools and public libraries across the US, with comparable custom millwork and procurement-support services.
• Brodart: Brodart supplies library furniture, shelving, and supplies to K-12 and public libraries, competing directly with LFI in library-specific furniture and equipment.
• Hertz Furniture: Hertz Furniture supplies K-12 schools, colleges, and libraries with classroom, library, and media-center furniture, directly comparable in customer base and product mix to LFI.

Broad incumbents

• Steelcase: Steelcase is a major office-furniture manufacturer with an education vertical serving K-12 and higher-ed; broader portfolio than LFI but competes for the same school modernization budgets.
• KI (Krueger International): KI manufactures and supplies contract furniture including dedicated education and library lines; an established incumbent competing with LFI for school furniture budgets.
• Haworth: Haworth is a global office and education furniture manufacturer with K-12 and higher-ed product lines, competing for larger district-level contracts that overlap with LFI's addressable market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Lfieducation-100146538500382
• Instagraminstagram.com/lfieducation
• Pinterestpinterest.com/LFIEducation/_saved
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/library-furniture-international

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about lfi (library furniture international)