A major player in the premium economy seat market with a growing footprint in economy class, ZIM Aircraft Seating is looking to double the assembly line capacity at its Markdorf, Germany site to meet demand.

In preparation for this ramp-up, the company recently expanded its Markdorf campus, adding a dedicated logistics hub close to its main production plant.

“The new goods-receiving hall provides additional space for the delivery, recording and quality inspection of incoming parts,” ZIM explained in a statement published on LinkedIn.

“With around 2,000 square metres of floor space, the new hub offers approximately 20% more storage capacity than before. Around 40 colleagues work there every day to ensure that incoming parts are handled efficiently and meet the high quality standards of ZIM.”

Relocating these activities across the street from the ZIM plant “will enable us to significantly expand our assembly operations and work towards doubling our assembly line capacity — supporting our continued growth and our ability to meet increasing customer demand,” the seatmaker said.

Counting Air France, Air New Zealand, and Lufthansa Group among its customers — its popular ZIMprivacy premium economy platform is now bookable on Edelweiss’ new A350 — ZIM’s expansion follows a product diversification exercise that saw the company acquire Greensboro, North Carolina-based HAECO Cabin Solutions from HAECO Group in 2023, and with it gain access to more production capacity and a state-of-the-art economy class seat family.

In April 2026, ZIM completed the divestiture to AAR of non-core activities stemming from the HAECO Cabin Solutions buy in order to accelerate growth in its key product lines: premium economy, domestic first class/business, and economy class seating. 

The fruits of ZIM’s labor were on display at this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg where the seatmaker introduced its latest generation, fixed-shell premium economy platform, The Frame, which boasts a unique wooden frame and can be ordered as either a fully-mechanical seat or with electric actuation — and indeed can be configured for domestic first/business.

Despite the weight penalty, and against a backdrop that sees a premium push in commercial aviation, electric actuation for premium economy is certainly growing in popularity (see Safran’s implementations on Japan Airlines, as revealed in 2023, and Emirates’ electrically-powered, full-height privacy screen, as displayed at Arabian Travel Market this week and explained by a member of crew on X).

So, ZIM’s electric option for The Frame is bang on trend.

Also during AIX, ZIM showcased its economy class portfolio, including its ZP210-branded short-haul product, which allows airlines to pitch seats at 28” whilst still providing room for passengers’ knees and shins.

Your 6’1″ correspondent gave the seat a whirl, and was rather chuffed to observe the amount of knee clearance provided. I shouldn’t have been surprised, however. Some 60 Airbus A320s, formerly operated by Spirit Airlines, once flew with this product.

On the economy class front, ZIM is presently focused on producing mechanical seats for single-aisle aircraft “up to the upper end, now including electric-driver [seats] for business class customers,” ZIM VP global research and product development Uwe Salzer told Runway Girl Network.

Lie-flat seats for long-haul business class might be explored in the medium-term, Salzer revealed, but the seatmaker is focused on its proverbial knitting in the near-term.

Related Articles:

• ZIM advances premium economy with deeply intuitive seat kinematics 
• Air New Zealand 777-300ER glow up includes Astrova IFE in economy
• Edelweiss cranks up the premium factor on Airbus A350s
• Stelia Aerospace to double premium seat production capacity
• RECARO Aircraft Seating makes recycled PVC cable standard
• Acro adds unique recycling code to every aircraft seat part

All images credited to the author, Mary Kirby