Knoll is a furniture manufacturing company, founded in New York in 1938 by Hans G. Knoll, a German furniture industrialist who moved to the United States. It manufactured chairs, tables, sofas, armchairs, fabrics, and a wide range of accessories. The original name was 'The Hans G. Knoll Furniture Company'.
Hans Knoll, known for optimism and ambition, hung a sign in his own office that read 'Factory No. 1'. His intention is to import furniture from Europe but, as the war progresses, it becomes increasingly difficult to make safe shipments so Hans begins to search the domestic market for both pieces to add to his production and designers from whom he can commission original pieces.

The birth of the company was accompanied by the birth of the Bauhaus. Hans Knoll, born in Stuttgart in 1914, is the second son of Walter Knoll, a successful second-generation furniture manufacturer. His grandfather, Wilhelm Knoll, founded the family business in 1865 and has a reputation in high quality furniture.

Walter and his brother, Wilhelm II, chose to refocus the business and create modern furniture in the wake of the birth of the Bauhaus movement.