Big news in the industry today: German brand Recaro, renowned for its seats for sports cars and racing teams, has filed for bankruptcy protection.
The company made its filing for bankruptcy before a German court yesterday, July 29. It should be noted that it is only the car seat division entering bankruptcy, and not Recaro Holding, which also manufactures aircraft seats and seats for racing games.
That car seat division passed from one owner to another in recent years. As reported by The Drive, it was purchased by Johnson Controls in 2011, then sold to a Detroit-based private equity firm, Raven Acquisitions, in January 2020. The statement issued to announce that sale claimed that Recaro Automotive had generated around $150 million in revenues in fiscal 2019.
The future of Recaro car seats is uncertain. If the company closes, many manufacturers will have to find other suppliers for the special seats they offer with performance models. If it is sold, it remains to be seen to whom and how this will impact on the future.
Also uncertain is what will happen to the company's 215 employees. German magazine Auto Bild reports that they have made many sacrifices over the years to keep the company afloat, suggesting that the company's financial problems are nothing new. Sadly, those workers learned of Recaro's bankruptcy at the last minute.
Recaro has specialized in manufacturing sports seats since the 1960s. Over the decades, its seats have been used inside BMW, Porsche, Alfa Romeo, Cadillac, Ford, Mazda, Subaru and Audi models, among others.