Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company, recently partnered with automotive-seating manufacturer Adient to form a joint venture, Adient Aerospace.
Adient Aerospace will develop, manufacture and sell seating products for airlines and aircraft- leasing companies. The seating will be for both new aircraft and for retrofitting older models.
Adient will hold a 50.01 percent market share in the new company while Boeing will hold 49.99 percent.
Adient Aerospace’s operational headquarters, technology center, and initial production plant will be in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and its customer service center will be in Seattle.
Aircraft seating is a market that is forecasted to reach $6 billion by 2026, up from $4.5 billion last year.
“Seats have been a persistent challenge for our customers, the industry, and Boeing, and we are taking action to help address constraints in the market,” said Kevin Schemm, senior vice president of Supply Chain Management, Finance & Business Operations and chief financial officer for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Adient Aerospace will leverage Boeing’s industry leadership and deep understanding of customer needs and technical requirements, to provide a superior seating product for airlines and passengers around the world. This joint venture supports Boeing’s vertical integration strategy to develop in-house capabilities and depth in key areas to offer better products, grow services and generate higher lifecycle value.”