LEA

Lear Corp

A maker of car seats and electrical systems that supplies nearly every major automaker, Lear builds complete seat systems plus the wiring, power distribution, and electronic controls inside modern vehicles. Founded in 1917 in Detroit as American Metal Products, it stamped steel seat frames before being absorbed by Lear Siegler in 1966 and renamed Lear Corporation in 1996. The "Lear" name comes from that old conglomerate, not from Bill Lear of Learjet fame—a mix-up the company still clears up today.