Boeing to manufacture airplane seats in joint venture with Adient

Boeing and Adient have announced the launch of Adient Aerospace, a new company that will look to develop, manufacture and market new airplane seating products to airlines.

The seats will be available for both new planes and as a retrofit for existing aircraft produced by both Boeing and other commercial models from different manufacturers.

For Boeing, the venture is a staple of its internal strategy of developing more in-house products and expanding its manufacturing capabilities, in the aim of growing its services and generating higher lifecycle value.

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“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.”

The new company’s headquarters, technology centre and initial production plant will all be located in Kaiserslautern, Germany, whilst its customer service centre will be based in Seattle, Washington.

“Adient has a strong set of transferable competencies that will offer a unique opportunity to create value for our company and for Boeing, our shareholders and the broader commercial aircraft market,” said Adient chairman and CEO Bruce McDonald.

“To enhance the customer experience for passengers, airlines and commercial airplane manufacturers, we will apply our unmatched expertise for comfort and craftsmanship along with our reputation for operational excellence.”

Adient will act as the majority shareholder with a 50.01% stake in the business, compared to Boeing’s 49.99% interest.