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Recaro. To car enthusiasts the world over, the name alone is synonymous with sport seats. In the forty or so years since producing the worlds first aftermarket sport seat, others have imitated, but rarely duplicated, Recaros combination of uncompromising form and function. To this day few accessories are as coveted as a pair of these German engineered works of art.
The explosion of the tuner scene in the 1990s combined with an emerging world market means that more and more manufacturers are now making seats for the aftermarket. Many of those companies offerings are virtual copies of Recaro designs, but few can match the engineering and quality. Nevertheless, these new brands have taken a big bite out of the market. Many are largely successful because they have quickly adapted to trends within the scene, offering exciting colors and materials. Recaro had been slower to embrace these trends, sticking quietly with its limited selection of Bauhaus-inspired fabrics and traditional designs.
To maintain its reign as the seating king, Recaro has regrouped and decided to get serious about tackling the American market, where it was starting to lose ground. Starting in 2003, its North American facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan, became more than just a sales and distribution center. Manufacturing was brought in-house to better serve the fickle American aftermarket as well as the growing OEM business.
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Earlier this year we stopped in on Recaros North American operations to get a closer look at the product and the process. It should go without saying that we were astounded by all the activity that takes place behind the walls of the humble building nestled in a remote corner of an unassuming commercial park.
Before we got the tour of the facility, our hosts filled us in on a little background on the company. As it turns out, 2006 is the centennial year for Recaro. One hundred years ago, Wilhelm Reutter opened a small factory in Stuttgart to build bodywork for the emerging automobile business, including early bodies for the Volkswagen. By the 1950s Reutter Carosserie (from which the ReCaro name would emerge) was building bodies for Porsches 356, eventually selling facility in Zuffenhausen to the emerging sportscar company. It wasnt until the following decade that Recaro first built a car seat, by no coincident also for Porsche.
By the mid-60s Recaro was developing and building its first true sport seats. Word got out about the incredible comfort and support offered by Recaros seats, whose designs were focused around the ergonomic needs of drivers in demanding conditions. By 1973 the company had gone international, opening a sales office in North America. As German cars and their aftermarket presence grew in popularity, so did Recaro. In the Euro-heyday of the mid-80s, Recaro seats were de rigueur if you owned a tuned Benz, Bimmer or Porsche.
If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then Recaro was beaming with pride in the last days of the 20th century, as numerous companies emerged offering sport seats that looked, oddly enough, like their own. Of course, this form of flattery had other implications in the business world, and the company faced stiff competition from newcomers offering similar-looking seats at a lower price.
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Today, Recaro is but one brand within a much larger company, the Keiper Recaro Group, that focuses not only on automotive seating, but also aircraft seating, structural seat components, and metallurgy. Believe it or not, you may be sitting on Recaro seats more often than you realize. It is not uncommon to see the Recaro logo on many newer airliners, and chances are the companys Keiper division may have supplied parts or engineering to the standard seats in your daily driver.
The most visible division of Recaro remains its automotive seat division, but even this aspect of the business is extremely diverse. Sure, we are all familiar with its aftermarket sports and racing models like the SPG, Sport and Trend, but most people know little about the entire line of ergonomically-correct commercial seats for over-the-road truck drivers. Perhaps the next time Officer Friendly has you pulled over for speed infractions, you can break the tension a little by asking him if he is fortunate enough to have an LXF in his cruiser. And now even the kiddies can have their own Recaros- in 1998 the company introduced its first line of child seats, and has continued to expand this lineup selling them widely through the companys own seat distributors, companies that specialize in baby goods and mainstream online retailers like Target.com.
Today an important element of Recaros business is supplying specialty seats to numerous carmakers. And not just the expensive ones from Germany. Its fairly well known that Recaro seats can be found in the new Aston Martin V8 Vantage and the European versions of the new Audi RS 4 and VW R32, but they have also made their way into the likes of the Chevy Cobalt SS and Saturn Ion Redline.
At their facilities in Detroits suburbs, Recaro North America focuses on five main product lines- OEM, Commerical, Aftermarket Sport, and Ergonomic. We were fortunate enough to get a tour of the production facilities while we were there. Its a rare pleasure to witness the birth of a Recaro seat.
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Depending on the individual seat, anywhere from 100 to roughly 200 pieces go into the final product. Some components, such as the main seat frame and foam cushions, are produced off-site by local suppliers. All of the finish work, including the embroidery of that famous logo and the sewing of the upholstery, is completed in the Auburn Hills workshop. Every Recaro seat is assembled entirely from hand, requiring 45 to 75 minutes of manual labor to complete each one.
The process starts with selection of the material. Leather hides are inspected one by one for blemishes, which are marked. An automated pattern machine scans the unmarked areas of the hide and calculates the cutting layout for maximum efficiency of the available material. The process is similar for cloth and vinyl trim.
Once cut, the panels are sewn together by hand. The seatback cover then moves to the embroidery station where it receives its branding in thread. The completed seat covers are placed together in bins before they make the short trek across the shop floor to the final assembly line.
On the assembly line, all of the major components come together- frame, cushions, covers. Options like seat heaters, cooling fans and electric motors are added at this stage. Bit by bit, the pieces are put in place and secured. The final product is a marriage of German engineering and American craftsmanship. From here, the completed seats are shipped to customers around the country.
Recaro North America does more than simply assemble seats though. For starters, the Auburn Hills facility is the primary warehouse for ready-to-ship stock seats. Recaro also takes full advantage of its proximity to most of the worlds automakers to help develop seats for concept cars and specialty models.
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As a company that relies on passion and enthusiasm, Recaro offers special services most seat makers simply cant. For instance, they can work with customer-supplied materials for a true custom finish. They can also supply material to customers who wish to re-trim other parts of their cars to match their new seats. And owners of older Recaro seats should be excited to learn that the company can usually assist in restoring them to new condition. Worn seats can be rebuilt using new parts where needed. Customers wishing to restore their old Recaros can simply work through one of the authorized dealers.
The automotive world is changing rapidly these days, with China and other countries discovering the freedom and personal expression the automobile brings. With its commitment to quality, style and function, the German seatmaker with a distinguished history stands poised to continue growing. Recaro seats will be sought after for many years to come.
VW/Audi Sidebar-by George Achorn
Recaro is not a new name to Volkswagen and Audi owners. From early second-generation GTI and Jetta models to Audis latest S4 range, seats coming from the German manufacturer have marked the highest equipment levels for these German brands.
The companys latest shell-style seat architecture began with the Subaru Impreza WRX STi and now has found its way into the latest Golf R32 and the Audi RS 4. Though the company hasnt yet begun to market this seat line in the aftermarket, they make no secret of the fact that there is great interest in doing just that.
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Several examples of the shell style seat were found in Recaros Auburn Hills office during our visit, including a one with red leather upholstering. Recaro tells us these seats can be fitted with carbon fiber or fiberglass composite backs for an even more aggressive look, though thus far Audi, Volkswagen and Subarus specs on these seats have been for all-leather covering.
In addition to a more aggressive design for the sporting driver, these new seats also make for more rear seat legroom due to their more compact architecture.
source:http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publish/article_1754.shtml
