Adient Explained

Adient plc
Type:Public
Predecessor:Automotive Experience division of Johnson Controls International
Num Locations:200 manufacturing/assembly plants
Area Served:Worldwide
Key People:Jerome Dorlack (CEO)[1]
Num Employees:70,000

Adient plc is an American Irish-domiciled company that manufactures automotive seating for customers worldwide and is based in Plymouth, Michigan, United States.[2]

History

Adient was founded as a spin-off from Johnson Controls in 2016, establishing its legal domicile in Dublin, Ireland.[3] Johnson Controls had entered the automotive seating business in 1985 by acquiring Hoover Universal.[4] In September 2017, Adient acquired the Oak Park, Michigan-based automotive seat manufacturer Futuris from Clearlake Capital, which added 15 facilities in Asia and North America, including one facility based in Newark, California,[5] and which was anticipated to increase the company's revenue by $0.5 billion annually.

In 2016, Adient announced plans to move its global operating headquarters to the Marquette Building in Detroit,[6] but canceled those plans as of June 2018.[7] In January 2018, a joint venture was formed by Adient (50.01%) and Boeing (49.99%) to develop and manufacture airliner seats for new installations or retrofit, a $4.5 billion market in 2017 which was then forecast to grow to $6 billion by 2026, to be based in Kaiserslautern near Frankfurt and distributed by Boeing subsidiary Aviall, with its customer service center in Seattle.[8]

In February 2020 Adient announced it agreed to sell its 30% stake in Yanfeng Global Automotive Interior Systems to Yanfeng Automotive Trim Systems for US$379 million.[9] [10]

In March 2020, Adient entered into an agreement to sell its automotive fabrics manufacturing business to Sage Automotive Interiors for $175 million.[11] [12]

As of 2022, Adient employed 70,000 people across 200 manufacturing/assembly plants, in 30 countries.[13]

Notes and References

  1. Adient President and CEO Doug del Grosso announces retirement; CFO Jerome Dorlack to be appointed leader of seating supplier .
  2. News: November 2023 . Adient Earnings Release . Adient Investors Website . 19 October 2023.
  3. Book: Wong, Wilson Kia Onn . Automotive Global Value Chain: The Rise of Mega Suppliers . Routledge . 2017 . 9781315300979 . Routledge Advances in Management and Business Studies . 87 . The global automotive seats industry . 1003268557 . Google Books (preview).
  4. News: 0362-4331. Daniels. Lee A.. Johnson Buying Hoover Universal. The New York Times. 2018-08-29. 1985-03-05.
  5. Driving Economic Growth: Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing. Loan Programs Office. January 2016. United States Department of Energy. 2. 6 January 2018.
  6. News: Adient moving to downtown Detroit's Marquette Building. Wayland. Michael. 30 November 2016. The Detroit News. 2017-12-04.
  7. News: Auto supplier Adient cancels move to downtown Detroit. Here's why.. Detroit Free Press. 2018-07-05. en.
  8. Boeing, Adient Launch New Company to Design and Build Airplane Seats. 16 January 2018. Adient. PRNewswire.
  9. Web site: Adient enters into agreement with joint venture partner Yanfeng to restructure existing joint venture relationships and drive shareholder value. finance.yahoo.com. en-US. 2020-02-19.
  10. Web site: Adient to sell stake in Yanfeng Global Automotive - International Leather Maker. internationalleathermaker.com. 3 February 2020 . en. 2020-02-19.
  11. Web site: Adient enters into settlement to promote its materials enterprise. 2020-03-09. Car Enthusiast World. en-US. 2020-03-19.
  12. Web site: Adient enters into agreement to sell its fabrics business Automotive World. www.automotiveworld.com. 6 March 2020 . 2020-03-19.
  13. It is unclear whether this number includes assets acquired through Futuris.