User:Kiel North America/sandbox

Kiel North America is part of the international Kiel Group, a global manufacturer of transit seating systems for commercial vehicles and public transportation, and a subsidiary of the Franz Kiel GmbH, which was founded in Germany in 1945.

In 2009, the Kiel Group established its North American Headquarters in Elkhart, Indiana, where a production plant and corporate offices are located. Other production plants exist in Germany, Poland (Kiel Polska Sp. zo.o.), France (Kiel France s.a.r.l.), the Netherlands (Franz Kiel B.V.), Russia (KF Kiel ooo), and Turkey (FKT Koltuk Sistemleri)

Kiel North America's seating solutions span from local, regional, and intercity bus and coach seats to light rail as well as intercity and high speed rail passenger seating. Currently, the company does not provide driver seats for trucks and buses like its European sister-subsidiaries. Despite the U.S. recession, the company grew quickly, which is largely due to its decade long experience in the European transportation sector, long-standing R&D and manufacturing experience, and excellent reputation for engineering highest-quality seats with an exciting yet light weight design which is an important factor for the fuel efficiency of the vehicles and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

In the recent past, Kiel North America has been involved in several transportation projects in the public and private sector, for example the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the Toronto Transit Commission in collaboration with Bombardier Transportation, South Bend Transpo, and METRO Houston.