Company Overview

 

Lear was founded in 1917 to sell seats to carmakers in Detroit. It has since become the world’s leading supplier of seat systems and is a major supplier of auto interior components. The company has three business lines: seating, the market in which the company made its reputation; interior, which provides flooring systems, dashboard insulators, and door panels; and electronic and electrical, which produces controls for components such as seats, entertainment systems, lighting, cruise control, heating, air conditioning, turn signals, remote keyless entry systems, and wire harness systems. Lear operates more than 280 facilities in 34 countries on six continents. Like most companies in the automotive market, Lear’s chief strategic focus is Asian expansion. To that end, the company has formed several joint ventures in Japan, Korea, and China to further increase its content per vehicle in the market. Lear is also capitalizing on the industry trend toward increasing an automobile's electronic equipment content—research indicates that by 2010 electronic components will account for up to 35 percent of a car's total value. The company is developing innovative safety, communications, and information electronics products, including its IntelliTire tire-pressure monitoring system, remote start systems, and an air bag deployment system.