Seating Segment
Lear is a recognized global leader in complete automotive seat systems and key
individual seat components. The seating segment consists of the design, development,
engineering, just-in-time assembly and delivery of complete seat systems, as
well as the design, development, engineering and manufacture of all major seat
components, including seat covers and surface materials such as leather and
fabric, seat structures and mechanisms, seat foam and headrests. We have the
most complete set of component offerings of any automotive seating supplier
and are a market leader in every automotive producing market in the world. Further,
our global manufacturing and engineering expertise, low-cost footprint, complete
component capabilities, quality leadership and strong customer relationships
provide us with a solid platform for future growth in this segment.
We produce seat systems that are fully assembled and ready for installation
in automobiles and light trucks. Seat systems are generally designed and engineered
for specific vehicle models or platforms. We develop seat systems and components
for all vehicle segments from compact cars to full-size sport utility vehicles.
We are the world leader in luxury and performance automotive seating, providing
craftsmanship, elegance in design, use of innovative materials and industry-leading
technology required by premium brands, including Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, Cadillac,
Ferrari, Jaguar Land Rover, Lamborghini, Lincoln, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz and
Porsche.
We have been executing a strategy for vertical integration of key seat components
to enhance growth, improve quality, increase profitability and support our current
market position in just-in-time seat assembly. In this regard, we have expanded
our seat structures and mechanisms capabilities to provide complete development
and manufacturing capabilities in all major automotive producing regions in
the world and have developed standardized seat structures and mechanisms that
can be adapted to multiple segments minimizing investment costs. We believe
that our low-cost manufacturing footprint in seat structures and mechanisms
and our precision engineered seat mechanism expertise are competitive advantages.
We have also expanded our seat cover operations, including precision cutting,
assembly, sewing and lamination of seat fabric, in low-cost markets, entered
the fabric business (largely through our acquisition of Guilford Performance
Textiles) and most recently, added industry-leading leather design, development
and manufacturing capabilities (through our acquisition of Eagle Ottawa). Eagle
Ottawa is the worlds leading provider of leather for the automotive industry,
with a low-cost manufacturing footprint and approximately 6,500 employees. With
the acquisition of Eagle Ottawa, Lear has an industry-leading position in automotive
leather in North America and Asia and is one of the top suppliers in Europe.
The addition of Eagle Ottawa also increased our representation with Asian automotive
manufacturers and customer mix of revenue in Asia. Eagle Ottawa has direct sourcing
arrangements with most of the major automotive manufacturers globally. With
a full range of leather design and manufacturing capabilities, Eagle Ottawa
further enhances Lears position as the industry leader in luxury and performance
automotive seating. We can provide globally a full range of seat cover capabilities
and design solutions, including the use of unique leather and fabric applications.
Craftsmanship and Design
We believe that our broad portfolio of capabilities, including advanced design
and material integration skills, is a differentiating competitive advantage
for us. The breadth of our portfolio and depth of our design expertise allows
us to have early involvement in the automotive manufacturer’s design process
and the opportunity to better integrate all seating components to provide differentiated
comfort, quality and overall value for the end consumer. We are leveraging our
unique position to be an industry leader in differentiated design through the
creation of a Center for Craftsmanship. This is a dedicated studio for customer
interface where designers and engineers work collaboratively to create innovative
solutions early in the design process. We have also developed a proprietary
craftsmanship process called Harmonic Precision that synthesizes all of our
component expertise and technologies with our customer’s design visions.
We believe that our unique craftsmanship and design capabilities can provide
customers with a durable and reliable product that can be differentiated across
all brands.
Intelligent Seating
We are the only seating supplier with both global capabilities in all major
seat components, including leather and fabric, and global electronics development,
manufacturing and integration. We believe that the seat will increasingly integrate
electronics, not only for motorized control, but for dynamic sensing and response.
We have developed active sensing and comfort seat capabilities, utilizing electronically
controlled sensor and adjustment systems and internally developed algorithms.
These seat designs automatically and constantly adjust the seats cushioning
and support based on the occupant’s position and ideal alignment for health
and wellness. We also have developed technologies that will monitor certain
bio-metric readings through seat sensors with a high level of accuracy and reliability.
We believe that intelligent and dynamic seating solutions will provide future
benefits as consumers and automotive manufacturers demand seats that can sense
key attributes of a driver and passenger and communicate these attributes within
the vehicle network, as well as to external networks. We believe that the seat
will increasingly become a more dynamic and integrated system that will actively
react to both the driver and driving conditions, particularly with the advent
of autonomous vehicles. Such trends will promote increased levels of electrical
and electronic integration into the seat.
Electrical Segment
The electrical segment consists of the design, development, engineering, manufacture,
assembly and supply of electrical distribution systems, electronic modules and
related components and software for light vehicles globally. We are a leader
in managing power and distributing signals within the vehicle for traditional
vehicle architectures, as well as high power and hybrid electric systems. We
have added connectivity software and hardware capabilities that facilitate secure,
wireless communication between the vehicle’s electrical and electronic
architecture and external networks, as well as other vehicles.
Electrical Distribution Systems
Electrical distribution systems are networks of wiring and associated components
that route and manage electrical power and electronic signals within a vehicle.
Our product offerings allow us to provide the complete electrical distribution
system of the vehicle and span four primary product areas: wire harnesses, terminals
and connectors, junction boxes and advanced efficiency systems.
Wire harness assemblies are a collection of wiring and terminals and connectors
that link all of the various electrical and electronic devices within the vehicle
to each other and/or to a power source. Wire harness assemblies are a collection
of individual circuits fabricated from raw and insulated wire, which is automatically
cut to length and terminated during the manufacturing process. Individual circuits
are assembled together on a jig or table, inserted into connectors and wrapped
or taped to form wire harness assemblies. The assembly process is labor intensive,
and as a result, production is generally performed in low-cost labor sites in
Mexico, Honduras, Eastern Europe, Africa, China, the Philippines, Brazil and
Thailand.
Terminals and connectors include conductive metal components and connector
housings that join wire harness assemblies together at their respective end
points or connect devices to wire harness assemblies. Terminals and connectors
can vary significantly in size and complexity depending on the amount of power
or data being transferred and the number of connections being made at any particular
point in the electrical distribution system. Terminals and connectors are currently
manufactured in Germany, China, Eastern Europe and the United States.
Junction boxes are centrally located modules within the vehicle that contain
fuses and/or relays for circuit and device protection and serve as a connection
point for multiple wire harnesses. Junction boxes are manufactured in Mexico,
Northern Africa, Europe, China and the Philippines with a proprietary, capital-intensive
assembly process using printed circuit boards, a portion of which are purchased
from third-party suppliers. Certain materials, particularly certain specialized
electronic components, are available from a limited number of suppliers. Proprietary
features have been developed to improve the function of these junction boxes
in harsh environments, including extreme temperatures and humidity.
Our advanced efficiency systems group is dedicated to the development of high
power and hybrid electrical systems and components, including wiring, terminals
and connectors and power electronics. We have products and technologies that
enable the varying degrees of powertrain electrification being employed by automotive
manufacturers today from mild hybrid vehicles to full electric vehicles. Our
products include on-board charging systems, charge cord sets, high voltage electrical
distribution systems and battery monitoring technology. Our global center for
Advanced Efficiency Systems and high power applications is in Southfield, Michigan
with full development capabilities also located in Valls, Spain. We are supplying,
or will supply, high voltage components and systems for hybrid and electric
vehicles produced by BMW, Daimler, Fiat Chrysler, General Motors, Jaguar Land
Rover and Renault-Nissan. We believe that our expertise in high power electrical
distribution systems will provide additional growth opportunities going forward
and will be beneficial with the entrance of technology and emergent companies
focusing on electric or other alternative powertrain designs.
Electronics
In our electrical segment, we also design, develop, engineer and manufacture
electronics, which control various functions within the vehicle, as well as
develop and integrate the associated software for these electronic modules.
Our electronic modules include body control modules, smart junction boxes, gateway
modules, wireless control modules, lighting control modules and audio amplifiers.
Our engineering and development activities for electronics are in Southfield,
Michigan, Santa Rosa, California, Spain, Germany, China and India. We assemble
these modules using high-speed surface mount placement equipment in Mexico,
China, the Philippines, Morocco, Spain and Germany.
Body control modules primarily control vehicle interior functions outside of
the vehicle’s head unit or infotainment system. Depending on the vehicle’s
electrical and electronic architecture, these modules can be either highly integrated,
consolidating multiple functional controls into a single module, or focus on
a specific function, such as seat position and comfort controls or the door
zone control module which controls features such as window lift, door lock and
power mirrors. As electronic control modules become increasingly centralized
and integrated, we developed "smart junction boxes," which are junction
boxes augmented with integrated electronic functionality that otherwise would
be contained in other body control modules. The integration of functionality
in our smart junction boxes eliminates interconnections, increases overall system
reliability and can consolidate the number of electronic modules within the
vehicle. This can lead to reduced cost and complexity. We believe that our expertise
in consolidating functional controls into integrated modules and integrating
these modules into the vehicle’s electrical and electronic architecture
is a competitive strength.
Intraday data delayed per exchange requirements. All quotes are in local exchange time. Intraday data delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and other exchanges. Fundamental and financial data for Stocks, Sector, Industry, and Economic Indicators provided by CSIMarket.com
Disclaimer: Information provided by CSIMarket.com is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, recommendation, or solicitation to buy or sell any security.
0.02 %