Textile and garments maker Arvind Ltd said it set up a joint venture with global auto-seat specialist Adient to manufacture automotive seat fabrics in India.
Adient Arvind Automotive Fabrics will be based in Ahmedabad, India, and will supply materials both to Indian and foreign customers of Adient.
“The joint venture will benefit from synergies between Adient and Arvind, each bringing industry-leading technology and design capabilities in their respective fields,” Arvind said.
Adient is the majority stakeholder in the new company with a 50.5 percent share and expects the joint venture to be included in its consolidated financial statements.
Adient is one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of automotive seating. It has 85,000 employees at 238 factories located in 34 countries.
Arvind is a $1.5 billion conglomerate with interests in textiles, branded apparel and accessories, engineering and real estate. It produces yarn, spins it into textiles, makes garments out of textiles and even has its own brands and retail outlets.
It manufactures about 300 million meters of fabrics and over 30 million pieces of ready to wear apparel every year.
Adient said the new venture will help it better serve its customers in India, one of the world’s biggest auto markets.
It will also help the company enhance its fabrics product portfolio, it added.
“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,” said Jef Vercammen, vice president for global fabrics at Adient.
“We are transforming our business quickly through technologies and partnerships that enable us to explore and create new opportunities across our business divisions.”
Adient said the joint venture will not only provide materials for supply to the Indian customers, but also to those outside India.
Arvind, on its part, said it wanted to expand beyond fashion into areas like protective clothing, construction and transport.
“This partnership is a watershed moment in this journey. The partnership will leverage Adient’s market presence and automotive expertise with Arvind’s textile manufacturing capabilities to provide customers superior and high-quality automotive seating solutions,” said the company’s executive director Punit Lalbhai.