Automotive seating supplier Adient PLC is considering entering the aerospace business, announcing plans Monday to work with Boeing Co. to explore development of seating for aircraft.
The recent spinoff of Johnson Controls Inc., which is one of the world’s top two suppliers of passenger car seats, is signaling it wants a piece of the growing market for aircraft interiors. The move comes as global sales growth for passenger vehicles is expected to slow, with record high demand for cars in key markets such as the U.S. forecast to decline slightly this year.
«We believe there’s an opportunity for Adient to raise the bar on the aviation passenger experience, building on our leadership in the automobile seat market,» Adient CEO Bruce McDonald said in a statement.
The collaboration with Boeing isn’t exclusive and Adient says it is open to working with all aircraft manufacturers, including rivals such as Airbus SE, Bombardier Inc. and Embraer SA.
Adient and rival Lear Corp. control about half of the passenger car seating market, which RnR Market Research values at around $70 billion currently and expects to grow to $84 billion by 2020. That dwarfs the $14.1 billion aircraft interior market, but demand for aviation seating and other interior components is projected to nearly double by 2025, according to Counterpoint Market Intelligence Ltd.
Boeing’s relationship with Adient is an effort to provide a «wider range of options and more reliable, on-time performance in the airplane interiors and seating category,» Kent Fisher, vice president of supplier management for the aerospace company’s commercial unit, said in a statement…
