Adient, an automotive seating manufacturer based in Detroit, has partnered with India’s Arvind Limited, a textile company, to form Adient Arvind Automotive Fabrics, a joint venture that will develop, manufacture, and sell automotive fabrics in India.
The new company will be based in Ahmedabad, India.
“Adient is committed to delivering new value to our customers while enhancing our fabrics product portfolio through continuing advancements,” says Jef Vercammen, vice president of Global Fabrics at Adient. “This partnership with Arvind Limited gives us an exciting opportunity to do just that in India’s rapidly growing automotive market.
“Combining Adient’s global fabrics design and technological resources with Arvind’s extensive manufacturing capabilities will enable us to accelerate the pace at which we bring innovative automotive fabrics products to market in India.”
Adient is the majority stakeholder in the new company with a 50.5 percent share, and the company expects the joint venture to be included in its consolidated financial statements. Both companies will have representation on the new company’s board of directors.
“We are transforming our business quickly through technologies and partnerships that enable us to explore and create new opportunities across our business divisions,” says Punit Lalbhai, executive director of Arvind Limited. “One of our key pillars is to extend textile manufacturing into newer frontiers outside of fashion and into various spaces like human protection, construction, and transport.”
Adient has 85,000 employees and 238 plants in 34 countries. The company produces automotive seating for all vehicle classes among all major OEMs.
Arvind is a $1.5 billion conglomerate with interests in textiles, branded apparel and accessories, engineering, and real estate.
