Press Information Recaro Automotive Seating (long version): Premium seat manufacturer repositioned Frankfurt/Main, Germany. Recaro Automotive Seating, the internationally renowned manufacturer of automotive seats for the premium OEM and aftermarket sectors, has repositioned itself under the umbrella of global automotive supplier Johnson Controls Automotive Experience. The product business unit Recaro Automotive Seating will design, produce and market premium vehicle seats for passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The European Commission gave the go-ahead for Johnson Controls to acquire the two German companies Recaro Automotive (passenger car seats), Kirchheim/Teck, and Keiper (metal components for vehicle seats, complete seats for commercial vehicles), Kaiserslautern, in June 2011. Recaro Automotive Seating will benefit in a number of ways from the integration into the global enterprise, such as by gaining access to the purchasing and production network of a global leader in automotive interiors. The explicit aim of the newly established business unit is to become a global market leader for complete premium vehicle seats.
Page 2 of 7 All stages of production in all vehicle classes Speaking of the synergy effects, Johannes Roters, Group Vice President and General Manager of Seating Components at Johnson Controls Automotive Experience, says: Johnson Controls Automotive Experience is creating a newly structured business unit by combining existing competencies with the know-how and products of Keiper and Recaro Automotive. This will enable us to offer our customers in the automotive and commercial vehicle sector a wide range of high-quality products in all vehicle classes, from components and metal structures to complete seats, giving us the basis for sustainable growth and consolidating our current market position. Keiper s former metals business has become part of the PBU Metals & Mechanisms, bundling all competencies in metal seat structures and mechanisms. Recaro Automotive and Keiper s commercial vehicle seats will now form the new product business unit (PBU) Recaro Automotive Seating. The PBU will offer premium seats for passenger cars and commercial vehicles under the renowned Recaro brand name. The Recaro Car Seating division, based in Kirchheim/Teck, will be responsible for the design, development, manufacturing and marketing of passenger car seats for the OEM and aftermarket segments at its traditional location; the Recaro Commercial Vehicle Seating division will design, produce and market commercial vehicle seats from the Kaiserslautern location, based on a new modular design. The markets in North and South America will be served from Auburn
Page 3 of 7 Hills, USA, the Asia-Pacific region from Higashiomi, Japan. We will initially focus on expanding our successful OEM business for commercial vehicle seats, says Elmar Deegener, Head of the PBU Recaro Automotive Seating. We then also aim to gain aftermarket shares. Global presence for Recaro passenger car and commercial vehicle seats The product portfolio of Recaro Automotive Seating will include: Standard passenger seats for the premium OEM sector, designed and manufactured according to the specific requirements of the automaker (OEM), e.g. Aston Martin, AMG, Ferrari or Lamborghini. Passenger car seats based on OEM seat structures (complete seat or substructure) and enhanced with a Recaro design or Recaro components for use in high-quality product lines of OEMs. Particularly well suited for use by the manufacturer in all models, e.g. Audi RS models. Recaro sport seats, comfort seats and special motorsport seats for the aftermarket. Passenger car seats from a modular system yet to be developed, which will enable automakers to combine individual seat layouts from largely standardized basic modules. Commercial vehicle seats for the OEM sector based on a modular seat structure in accordance with defined manufacturer specifications.
Page 4 of 7 Manual and electric commercial vehicle seats for the aftermarket based on the same modular seat structure. Production of the manual versions is scheduled to start in summer 2012. Established worldwide as a premium automotive seating brand, Recaro is gaining access through Johnson Controls to a platform for marketing the brand and products more intensively and conquering new business segments. With this expansion, Recaro Automotive Seating is adding its core competencies of design, ergonomics, craftsmanship, robustness, lightweight construction and high-class workmanship to the global network of Johnson Controls. At the same time, Recaro Automotive Seating is retaining its individual presence on the market including independent marketing of its products. The division should become the technology leader in the automotive seating sector through these interactions. Unique technological competence The seat manufacturer will be accessing the entire group s resources in metal and plastic seat structures, all mechanisms, foam, materials and covers. Elmar Deegener explains: The Johnson Controls product portfolio is unrivalled worldwide. The restructured Metals & Mechanisms unit, all areas of seat manufacturing, the just-in-time expertise, the global presence, the customers we will utilize this huge potential to grow our product business unit, too. By merging with Johnson Controls, Recaro has a globally unique opportunity to structure the entire
Page 5 of 7 product process from design to marketing from a single source. In future, Recaro seats will be designed jointly by the technical departments in Kirchheim/Teck and the R&D unit at the Technical Center in Kaiserslautern. Completely new opportunities will arise from the cooperation of the specialists and the shared use of all facilities, including the crash simulation facility. The globally unique competence center for automotive seats will support both Recaro Automotive Seating and other business units within the Automotive Seating division of Johnson Controls. Recaro seats may be produced at Johnson Controls locations in the future, if necessary by staff trained in-house and working in specially equipped production areas to ensure premium quality. Exclusive brand rights in the automotive sector In order to use the trademark rights of Recaro in the automotive sector, Johnson Controls signed a licensing agreement with the holder of the rights, Putsch Holding in Kaiserslautern, which regulates the global, exclusive and indefinite use of the trademark for vehicle seats by Johnson Controls. The newly formed Recaro Group will retain the rights to the Aircraft Seating, Child Seats and Home Furniture product areas however. Elmar Deegener will lead the new PBU Recaro Automotive Seating. He will report to Johannes Roters, Group Vice President and General Manager of Seating Components at Johnson Controls Automotive Experience. The Recaro Car
Page 6 of 7 Seating passenger car division will be led by Dr. Christian Debus, who will also be responsible on a temporary basis for the entire business unit in the region Asia-Pacific. Dr. Klaus Heldmann will head up the Recaro Commercial Vehicle Seating division. The R&D unit in the Technical Center in Kaiserslautern will be managed by Matthias Fischbach. RECARO Automotive Seating-PR 13 September 2011 Contact for press: Tilman Schäfer Phone: +49 (0) 7021 93-5445 Fax: +49 (0) 7021 93-5566 E-mail: presse@recaro-automotive.com RECARO Automotive Seating Stuttgarter Straße 73 73230 Kirchheim/Teck, Germany Recaro Automotive Seating Recaro Automotive Seating is a product business unit belonging to the Seating Components product group of Johnson Controls Automotive Experience. At four locations in Germany, Japan and the USA, we design, manufacture and market complete seats representative of our core competencies design, ergonomics, craftsmanship, robustness, lightweight construction and high-class workmanship under the brand name Recaro. While Recaro Car Seating offers passenger car seats for OEMs and the aftermarket, Recaro Commercial Vehicle Seating
Page 7 of 7 focuses on commercial vehicle seats in the OEM and aftermarket segments.