A pair of Recaro seats.
Johnson Controls Inc., one of the world’s top automotive suppliers, has swooped in to acquire one of the top names in automobile seating – Recaro.
JCI has signed a purchase agreement to acquire the German automotive supplier Keiper and the Recaro-brand specialty seat business. Financial details regarding the transaction were not disclosed.
“This acquisition further strengthens our metal components and mechanisms business through the addition of the Keiper and Recaro brands which are synonymous with quality, technical expertise and innovation,” said Beda Bolzenius, Vice President, Johnson Controls and President, Automotive Experience. ”
“It provides leading technologies that we can leverage across our current seat component portfolio, and expand in China and North America,” he said.
Keiper, based in Kaiserslautern, Germany, is a leader in recliner system technology and is renowned for its engineering and manufacturing expertise in metal components and mechanisms. The acquisition will include approximately 4,750 employees globally in seven countries.
Bolzenius said Keiper’s expertise includes engineering processes and technologies used to produce metal seat components, structures and mechanisms, including mechanisms which adjust the seat’s length and height as well as Recaro automotive sport and specialty seat portfolio.
Excluded from the transaction, however, are Keiper’s operations in Brazil.
With the acquisition of Keiper and the automotive seating division of Recaro, Johnson Controls expects to strengthen its competitive position in key seating components with expanded opportunities to develop new differentiating products and technologies, Bolzenius said.
Johnson Controls said it believes that increasing vertical integration and enhancing its seating components technologies will help accelerate future growth of its automotive seating business, Bolzenius said.
Martin Putsch, owner and CEO of the Keiper Recaro Group said: “We are pleased that our team will become part of such a successful organization. Being part of Johnson Controls will provide a unique opportunity for our company to best meet the future challenges of our industry, such as fast-growing globalization and platform standardization.”
Completion of the acquisition is subject to anti-trust approval and is expected to close during the first half of calendar year 2011.