Recaro Aircraft Seating is building a new production facility in Qingdao, China. The company signed an investment agreement with Chinese authorities on February 22, 2012. As of 2013, the company will be the first international aircraft seat supplier in China to manufacture seats for the local market.

The contract was signed on February 22, 2012 in the presence of senior Chinese representatives, including Wang Guangzheng, Deputy Mayor of Qingdao, and Zhao Xingshu, Director of the Administrative Committee of the Qingdao National High-tech Industrial Development Zone. A Recaro delegation on site included Recaro Group principal shareholder Martin Putsch, Recaro Aircraft Seating Managing Director Dr. Mark Hiller, and Manfred Buechner, General Manager of the future Recaro plant. Buechner is a China expert and has already gained extensive experience in setting up and managing operations for European companies in Asia.

The contract signing is an important precondition for establishing the new Recaro Aircraft Seating production site in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China. The contract outlines details of the double-digit million-euro investment along with the size of the new site and infrastructure links. The next phase involves founding the Recaro subsidiary in China and con- struction of the manufacturing plant. The first aircraft seats will be supplied to customers in China as early as 2013.

The move to China is strategically important for Recaro Aircraft Seating. According to Dr. Mark Hiller, "Asia will be the biggest market for aircraft seats in the future. Studies show that Chinese airlines alone will need up to 3,900 new aircraft over the next 20 years. We are the first international aircraft seat supplier to launch production operations in China. This means that we will have manufacturing facilities in all three key aircraft markets in Asia, Europe, and America. The new plant in Qingdao will expand our capacities in the Chinese market – and enable us to serve our customers in the Far East as efficiently as possible."