First Recaro Supplier Award goes to Bretthauer

At a ceremony attended by 100 invited guests, including the Recaro management team and representatives from the 40 leading supply companies, Recaro Aircraft Seating presented the Supplier Award 2010 to company representatives from Reinhard Bretthauer GmbH. “Delivery performance and one hundred percent quality combined with efficient and innovative teamwork: These are our top priorities when it comes to serving as a competent aviation industry partner in the face of a difficult economy. Our mission is to be the best seat manufacturer from our customers' perspective, and we expect the same from our suppliers,” said Recaro Aircraft Seating COO Dr. Mark Hiller, speaking at the award ceremony.

Bretthauer managed to meet these high expectations. In 2009 the company consistently delivered excellent quality, on time, with outstanding technical expertise in the development of new projects as well as in their subsequent implementation. “Our joint cooperation is exemplary,” explained René Dankwerth, Director Sourcing at Recaro Aircraft Seating. “And it has been for a long time. We have been working together successfully for more than ten years.” Bretthauer supplies Recaro Aircraft Seating with high-quality, injection molded plastic parts including armrests, tables, endbays and cup holders.

First award with plans to continue
Bretthauer was selected from a pool of the top-100 Recaro suppliers worldwide. The award was based on the continuous supplier evaluations of quality, punctuality and efficiency conducted regularly by Recaro Aircraft Seating. “Overall, we have very good, highly-motivated suppliers. But only a few of them are truly outstanding. These include companies like Bretthauer that introduce their own ideas in the engineering phase and are extremely reliable in the production phase,” said Dankwerth.

Recaro Aircraft Seating presented its Supplier Award this year for the first time. In the future, the company plans to present the award annually. “This award is a logical step. We want to recognize outstanding performance and at the same time, encourage competition among our suppliers,” Dankwerth explains.

Successful meeting of Recaro's global suppliers
The award ceremony took place as part of the second international conference for Recaro Aircraft Seating suppliers. The company invited its key suppliers to Hamburg for the “Recaro Aircraft Seating Supplier Conference 2010”. The conference was staged to initiate an intense dialog with suppliers prior to the Aircraft Interiors Expo, the industry's leading trade event.

In addition to presentations with details on the company's development and current market demands, participants attended workshops focusing on leadership and process excellence in assembly operations, cost and weight optimized engineering of aircraft seats, and the optimization of supplier communications. A guest speaker from Airbus reported on the aircraft manufacturer's current status. His presentation concluded with a tour of the Airbus plant in Hamburg.

“Our goal was to raise the suppliers' awareness of the demands placed on us by the airlines and aircraft manufacturers and to keep them up to date on our goals and plans,” says Hiller. “It was also important for us to get their feedback on what we can do better in the future. We place great value on teamwork. The success of the event clearly showed us that we are on the right track.”