5 days ago
Bain's Japanese plane seat-maker sees U.S. hub as shelter from Trump tariffs
A newly acquired Bain Capital company in Japan that makes airplane seats, toilets and galleys is betting its U.S.-based manufacturing hub will give it an advantage under President Donald Trump's tariff regime.
Armed with private equity cash, Jamco's new management is rebooting its aircraft seat business, chasing market share from rivals RTX's Collins Aerospace and France's Safran, Executive Chair Kate Schaefer said in an interview.
Supply chain issues that have seen wait times for cabin fittings blow out to as long as three years — forcing the likes of Delta Air Lines and American Airlines to ground newly delivered jets as they await seats — also present an opportunity to fill, Schaefer said.
"Right now with everything that's going on with tariffs, it appears to be an advantage in manufacturing and assembling these seats in the U.S.,' she said. The company is also promising to deliver products in as little as six months.
Jamco's main production line is located near Boeing's largest assembly line in Everett, just outside Seattle. The U.S. has rolled out a raft of tariffs on global trading partners, with Japanese and European Union goods being levied at 15%, and up to 25% for India and 39% for Switzerland.
Across the industry, carriers from Singapore Airlines to British Airways are spending hundreds of millions of dollars revamping seats as they upgrade cabins to lure more high-end travelers. Jamco plans to focus on higher-margin first-class and business seats, which can cost from $80,000 to $160,000 each depending on materials used and the level of customization required.
Jamco's seat-making business struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic as global travel bans and border closures hammered the aviation industry. It paused research and development during the pandemic, but is restarting that under new management. Schaefer said the business has a slim order book but a factory and a workforce ready to go.
Previously, Jamco counted the likes of Singapore Airlines and Dutch carrier KLM as top customers for its seats. Its other business units continue to make components and equipment such as galleys for Boeing and Airbus jets.
Jamco was bought by Bain in a $700 million buyout earlier this year. Like Virgin Australia Holdings, which delivered Bain a 3.5 times' return on its initial investment when it listed the airline in June, the private equity firm says it aims to pursue an initial public offering of Jamco in a five-year time frame. Bain is also actively looking for smaller complementary acquisitions to expand on Jamco's current line of work.
Bain's Tokyo-based leadership who led the deal, Masa Suekane and Nick Gattas, sees Jamco as a "bet on the industry,' bolstered by the decadelong waiting list for new planes. Jamco aims to take advantage of the challenging ramp-up in wide-body production by Boeing and Airbus as an "attractive' five-year window to win new business.
