Recaro Aircraft Seating celebrates 20 years in the Americas

Recaro Aircraft Seating Americas LLC celebrated the 20th anniversary of its site in Fort Worth, Texas. Headquartered in Schwabisch Hall Germany and among the top three aircraft seat manufacturers in the world, Recaro has serviced customers from all over the globe.

The celebration included more than 400 employees from the site as well as colleagues from Germany, Poland, China, and South Africa. Also in attendance were representative from Hillwood Properties, city officials, and the media.

Recaro Aircraft Seating Americas LLC General Manager Sunitha Vegerla kicked off the anniversary celebration by discussing the close relationship Recaro shares with North Texas.

“We are proud to have established ourselves in our community and look forward to continuing to build on this partnership,” Vegerla said. “Thanks to the support from our community leaders, suppliers, and other Recaro sites, our team is in a strong position for success in today’s challenging market.”

Dr. Mark Hiller, chief executive officer and shareholder of Recaro Aircraft Seating, as well as Martin Putsch, chief executive officer of Recaro Holding, spoke about the history of Recaro and the impact a site in the Americas has created on global operations.

“This milestone is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our team in the Americas,” Hiller said. “Over the last twenty years, this group has demonstrated the ability to perform different types of work and exceed customer expectations.”

The event closed a week of significant meetings for the company, including hosting the Global Supplier Conference and an International Management Meeting.

Representatives from Hillwood Properties as well as the city of Fort Worth were in attendance. Hillwood Properties Executive Vice President Bill Burton as well as Fort Worth Mayor Pro Tem Dennis Shingleton spoke on the impact Recaro has had in the community.

“Fort Worth is a strong market and we believe that, through a collaboration between Recaro and our community leaders, they are situated in an ideal position for growth,” Councilman Shingleton said.

Recaro’s Fort Worth operations began in 1998 with American Airlines as its first customer. At the time, the plant opened with one assembly line and 12 employees and by 2004 had grown to 60 employees. The site had consistent growth over the next two decades and doubled its production space to 248,000ft² in 2013.

Worldwide today, Recaro employs more than 2,300, including 400+ from the Fort Worth site. In 2017, Recaro Aircraft Seating supplied 41 airlines and aircraft manufacturers (including eight new customers) with 120,000 seats. That number represents a 15% volume increase over 2016.