If you’ve been in performance cars from the likes of BMW, Ford, Volkswagen, Renault, Honda, Mitsubishi, or a whole lot of other manufacturers in the last 30 years or so, there’s a very good chance that you sat in seats made by Recaro.
The German company is known as one of the foremost suppliers of car seats for the automotive and motorsport industries, but its future suddenly looks very unclear, as it’s just filed for bankruptcy.
The company confirmed that it’s filed for insolvency with courts in the German town of Esslingen, near its headquarters in a statement on Wednesday. It stated that “significant financial difficulties due to extreme price increases in recent crisis years and the loss of a major contract” are to blame. It’s not clear which contract it’s referring to.
Recaro seats in the Mk1 Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet
Recaro also said that its employees were informed of the news in a meeting held alongside the IG Metall trade union that represents them and local politicians. It says that insolvency payments will keep its employees’ wages secure during the insolvency proceedings and that during the process, it’ll retain full production, fulfilling existing orders and fielding any new enquiries.
Recaro was established in 1906 as a coachbuilder, in which guise it constructed bodies for various Mercedes, VW and Porsche models, including the 356. The 1960s saw it switch focus to seating, beginning to supply the Porsche 911 in 1965.
Recaro Podium seats in a Porsche 911
Its innovations include the first road-legal single-piece bucket seat, an early seat with speakers integrated into the headrest, and the first seat with side airbags able to be retrofitted to older cars. Through separate companies and licensing deals, Recaro also produces aircraft seats, gaming chairs and child car seats. These aspects of the business are unaffected, with the insolvency only affecting its Automotive division.
Recaro’s statement on its insolvency closed by saying: “By working together as a team with our employees, suppliers, and customers through the possibility of an insolvency plan under the German Law we expect to stand on solid ground again in a timely manner.”
