Lear Corporation

Company Profile

■URL

https://www.lear.com/

■Address

21557 Telegraph Road, Southfield, MI 48033 USA

Business Overview

-The Company supplies complete seat systems, seating components, electrical distribution and connection systems, power distribution products, battery disconnect units, electronic controllers, and other electronic modules as well as related sub-systems, components and software, to all of the world's major automotive manufacturers.

-Its business is organized under two reporting segments: Seating and E-Systems. Each of these segments has a varied product and technology range across a number of component categories:

  • Seating
    • Design, development, engineering, just-in-time assembly and delivery of complete seat systems
    • Design, development, engineering and manufacture of all major seat components, including seat covers and surface materials such as leather and fabric, seat structures and mechanisms, seat foam and headrests
    • Active sensing, safety, connectivity, user experience and comfort for seats, utilizing electronically controlled systems and internally developed algorithms
  • E-Systems
    • Design, development, engineering and manufacture of complete electrical distribution systems
    • Design, development, engineering and manufacture of power distribution systems and battery disconnect units
    • Sophisticated electronic control modules, electrification products and connectivity products

Competitors

Seating Segment E-Systems Segment
-Adient
-
Forvia
-Magna International
-Toyota Boshoku
-TS Tech
-Yanfeng
-Aptiv
-Bosch
-CATL
-Continental
-Delta Electronics
-Denso
-Harman
-Hella
-Leoni
-LG Energy Systems
-Molex
-Panasonic
-Sumitomo Electric Industries
-TE Connectivity
-Valeo
-Visteon
-Yazaki

-Based on independent market studies and estimates, the Company believes it has the #2 position globally in complete seat systems with a 25% global market share on the basis of revenue for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. The Company has a mid-tern target of achieving a global market share of 29% in complete automotive seat systems.

-In May 2022, the Company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire I.G. Bauerhin, a private supplier of automotive seat heating, ventiliation, cooling, sensors, steering wheel heating and ECUs. In April 2023, the Company completed the acquisition of I.G. Bauerhin for EUR 175 million.

Shareholders

-The Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Products

Seating
-Complete seat systems
-Seat covers
-Seat structures
-Seating mechanisms (recliners, tracks, latches)
-Foam technologies
-Seating comfort systems including massage, lumbar support, thermal comfort, and ventilation
-Seating electronic control modules
-INTU intelligent seating systems with advanced comfort solutions
-Eagle Ottawa Leather 
-Guilford Performance Textiles
-ConfigurE+ configurable seating architecture system
-Ansole leather finishing technology
-ReNewKnit sustainable sueded alternative material
-TeXstyle surface material coatings
-SoyFoam low-profile, low-emissions foam
-FlexAir recyclable non-foam alternative
-Zero gravity seats

E-Systems
-Wire harnesses
-Connection systems
-Integrated power modules
-Smart junction boxes
-Body domain controllers
-Audio domain controllers
-Zone control modules
-Advanced software
-Terminals
-Connectors
-Power distribution units
-Eyelets
-Seals
-TCUs
-Battery disconnect units
-High-voltage battery connection systems


History

1917 Established as "American Metal Products Corporation" in Detroit, USA.
Nov. 1993 Purchased certain assets of the Plastics and Trim Products Division of Ford Motor Co. that supply seat trim and trimmed seat assemblies to Ford.
Dec. 1993 Merged with parent company, Lear Holdings Corporation, to form new entity.
Dec. 1994 Acquired SEPI S.p.A. from Gilardini S.p.A.
Jun. 1995 Acquired approximately 97% of Masland Corporation.
Formed a joint venture, Lear Seating Inespo Industrial Do Brasil L.T.D.A. in Brazil.
Aug. 1995 Acquired Automotive Industries Holding, Inc.
Oct. 1995 Formed a joint venture, Lear Seating Do Brasil in Brazil.
Dec. 1996 Acquired Borealis Industrier AB, a western European supplier of instrument panels, door panels and other automotive components, from Borealis Holding AB.
Jun. 1997 Acquired Dunlop Cox Limited.
Jul. 1997 Acquired certain equity and partnership interests in Keiper Car Seating GmbH & Co. and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Aug. 1997 Acquired the Automotive Seat Sub-Systems Unit of ITT Automotive.
Sep. 1998 Acquired the seating business of Delphi Automotive Systems.
Feb. 1999 Acquired Polovat and the automotive business of Ovatex.
Apr. 1999 Purchased certain assets of Peregrine Windsor, Inc., a division of Peregrine Incorporated.
May 1999 Acquired UT Automotive Inc., a wholly-owned operating segment of United Technologies Corporation.
Jun. 1999 Sold Electric Motor Systems (EMS) to Johnson Electric Holdings Limited.
Sep. 1999 Purchased Donnelly Corporation's 50% interest in Lear-Donnelly Overhead Systems, L.L.C., the joint venture in which the two suppliers had been partners.
May 2000 Formed a joint venture with Motorola, Inc.
Jun. 2000 Sold its sealants and foam rubber business to AcoustiSeal.
Nov. 2000 Formed Total Interior Systems - America, a joint venture with Takashimaya Nippatsu Kogyo Co., Ltd.
Dec. 2000 Sold four European plastic and metal manufacturing facilities.
2000 Sold its interests in North American Interiors, L.L.C., Pianfei Glass S.A., Autoform Kunstoffteile GmbH and Autoform Kunstoffteile GmbH & Co. KG.
Feb. 2002 Formed a comprehensive business partnership with Mitsubishi Cable Industries, Ltd. in the automotive wire harness business.
Apr. 2002 Announced the formation of Nanjing Lear Xindi Automotive Interiors System Co., Ltd. (Lear Xindi), a joint venture with the Xindi subsidiary of Yuejin Motor Group Corporation.
2006 Decided to exit the interior business and completed the divestiture of European interior business.
Mar. 2007 Completed the divestiture of its interior business.
Jul. 2009 The Company, along with certain U.S. and Candian subsidiaries, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Nov. 2009 The Company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
May 2012 Acquired Guilford Mills, a manufacturer of fabrics for the automotive and specialty markets.
Jan. 2015 Acquired Eagle Ottawa, a manufacturer of automotive leather, for USD 850 million.
Aug. 2015 Acquired intellectual property and technology from Autonet Mobile, a developer of software and devices for automotive applications.
Nov. 2015 Acquired Arada Systems, an automotive technology company which focuses on V2V and V2I communications.
Dec. 2016 Acquired AccuMED Holdings Corp., a privately-held developer and manufacturer of specialty fabrics.
Apr. 2017 Completed acquisition of Grupo Antolin’s seating business for EUR 286 million.
Dec. 2017 Entered agreement to acquire EXO Technologies, a GPS technology specialist which provides high-accuracy solutions for autonomous and connected vehicle applications.
Jan. 2018 Completed acquisition of EXO Technologies.
Apr. 2019 Acquired Xevo Inc., a supplier of software solutions for the cloud, vehicles and mobile devices.
Mar. 2021 Acquired M&N Plastics, an injection molding specialist and manufacturer of engineered plastic components for automotive electrical distribution applications.
Feb. 2022 Completed acquisition of Kongberg Automotive’s Interior Comfort Systems business unit, which specializes in thermal and comfort seating solutions, for USD 198 million.
May 2022 Entered definitive agreement to acquire I.G. Bauerhin, a supplier of automotive seat heating, ventilation, cooling, sensors and ECUs, for USD 140 million.
Completed acquisition of Thagora Technology SRL, a specialist in material utilization hardware and software technologies.
Nov. 2022 Completed acquisition of InTouch Automation, a supplier of Industry 4.0 technologies and automated testing equipment for automotive seat production.
Apr. 2023 Completed acquisition of I.G. Bauerhin, a private supplier of automotive seat heating, ventilation, cooling, sensors, steering wheel heating and ECUs, for EUR 140 million.

Supplemental Information 1