Lear to Shift Indiana Seating Production to Larger Site

Lear Corp. is constructing a 240,000-sq-ft seat manufacturing plant in Hammond, Ind., where it can consolidate production from its existing facilities in Hammond and nearby Portage, Ind.

The supplier aims to launch output at the new Hammond plant in April 2019. The facility, which will include sub- and final-assembly lines, will produce seats for future Ford Motor Co. SUVs.

Lear opened its current 100,000-sq-ft Hammond plant in 1994 and added output at the smaller Portage site in 2015. The 875 people at these two sites, which produce seats for Ford’s Explorer SUV, will be transferred to the larger plant.

Lear broke ground at the new Hammond site this week. The company is investing $30 million in the project.

In addition to the Indiana move, Lear is opening a 156,000-sq-ft plant in Flint, Mich. Located on the former site of General Motors Co.’s Buick City administration building, that facility is expected to come online next spring and reach full-production in 2019. The plant will supply seats to General Motors Co.’s Flint Truck assembly plant, taking over some work from Lear’s Rochester Hills, Mich., site.