Sports seat manufacturer Recaro files for bankruptcy

Car seat manufacturer Recaro Automotive has filed for bankruptcy. 

The German firm, which supplies major brands including BMW, Ford and Volkswagen, was yesterday approved for self-administration by the Esslingen District Court. 

Local reports suggest that employees hadn't been informed that it would be filing for bankruptcy.

The IG Metall trade union said it's currently unclear what insolvency means for the 215 workers at the factory in Kircheim unter Teck and has called for transparency from Recaro’s management.

The news comes just four years after Recaro Automotive was sold by American seating giant Adient to private investment firm Raven Acquisitions.

The bankruptcy filing doesn't affect Recaro’s aircraft seat, gaming seat or child seat businesses.

The aircraft and gaming arms are owned by the original Recaro company, Recaro Holding, which licences its branding to Recaro Child Safety, a property of Avova, and Recaro Automotive.

Recaro is one of the best-known and most prolific suppliers to the automotive industry, having been active since the early 20th century.

The company was established as coachbuilder Stuttgarter Carosserie und Radfabrik in 1906 and produced bodies for various Porsches and Volkswagens until the early 1960s. It then pivoted into seat production, launching its first sports seat for the Porsche 911 in 1965.

Its seats have since become a marker for high-performance machinery, featuring in cars as varied as the Ford Fiesta ST, Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport and Aston Martin Valkyrie. Less sporting models such as the Ineos Grenadier also come equipped with Recaro seats. 

The company also offers aftermarket seats, with various product lines including FIA-approved buckets for racing and classic designs targeted at the burgeoning restoration sector.