Katzkin Leather Enters 24th Year at SEMA -- 2011 Exhibit Showcases Advanced Interior Design, OEM Partnerships and More Than 3,000 Interior Choices for Consumers

MONTEBELLO, Calif., Oct. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As the global leader in automotive leather interiors, Katzkin Leather enters its 24th year of exhibition at the SEMA show in Las Vegas with an entirely new perspective – keenly focused on advanced interior design.  As a company, Katzkin to date has outfitted more than one million vehicles with its leather interiors, and is providing more than 3,000 patterns of handcrafted leather choices to its nationwide network of new vehicle dealers and restylers – a network that generates more than $100 million in annual revenues from the sale of Katzkin products.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/52640-katzkin-leather-2011-24th-year-sema-advanced-interior-design-choices-oem

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111018/MM87225)

As the company enters its 28th year of business, with a long string of successes under its belt, OEM's are now initiating exclusive partnerships and affording Katzkin an expanded credibility factor in the area of non-factory-provided automotive leather interiors.

According to Brooks Mayberry, CEO of Katzkin Leather, Inc., the brand's true niche is in providing customization through choice.  "We're offering world-class design through interior transformation," said Mayberry.  "We deliver customers the ability to upgrade their vehicles to a much more luxurious look and feel in a cost-efficient way -- with choices they've never had before.  And by enabling choice, our levels of customization become the driving force in personalization."

While working with each of the brands within the Mopar Performance designation, including Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and now Fiat, Katzkin's additional OEM partnerships include Ford and Shelby American, Inc.  Pushing for a new and more current perspective, the company has taken an even stronger emphasis in design, reaching beyond mere functionality.  Former Peugot and Mitsubishi Motors' designer, David O'Connell, recently joined the Katzkin team as Chief Designer, bringing more than two decades of forward thinking and global automotive design execution to the automotive leather brand.  His philosophies and design expertise have brought an innovative significance to automotive interiors, and are opening new channels of enthusiasm for customers that are excited about the ability to further personalize the vehicles they own.

Advanced Vehicle Design and SEMA 2011

"The landscape of design in today's gamut of consumer goods is constantly changing," said O'Connell.  "From a cultural standpoint, we live in an 'on-demand' world where people are now expecting all types of personalization to enhance and express their own character traits.  With Katzkin, we play a unique role in delivering a personalized and convenient approach to interior transformation which digs deep into the soul of an owner.  Our goal is to create the ultimate interior statement for each vehicle, tapping into the DNA of an owner and the type of experiences that owner enjoys."

Katzkin offers three very different approaches to individual interior design ranging from premium and custom levels on up to a limited package which provides the definitive statement in automotive interior design, offering not only the best materials, but adding more detail and bolder, more expressive elements.  Limited Edition designs can include different materials and colors, embossing and textures, grains and effects through state of the art digital technologies that are then applied to the Katzkin handcrafted process.

For SEMA , Katzkin will be highlighting the future direction for its products – and that includes contemporary design elements.  The 1800 square foot display area places Katzkin among the top 10 percent of exhibitors at the SEMA show, highlighting a clean, high-tech showroom concept that embraces the brand in a striking, but simple, manner.  

Among highlights will be three "Advanced Vehicle Design" sketches: Ford Mustang Boss 302; Ford Focus; and Fiat 500 – each important and unique to their own category.  According to O'Connell, the purpose was to impose a cutting edge excitement that parallels the quick pace of OEM design, yet enhances benefits that OEM's may not be able to provide.  "We're consistently finding new ways through design to achieve boldness and originality, we seek to push an owner's delight buttons," said O'Connell.

"Katzkin may be one of the best kept secrets in the automotive non-OEM spectrum," O'Connell continued.  "However, our ever-growing involvement with OEM partnerships, which include major industry players requesting placement of their own vehicles in the Katzkin booth, is proving the brand's credibility and value on a much broader scale."

The Katzkin Leather booth at SEMA (#12047) will showcase its leather interiors on a Shelby GT350 and a Mopar Fiat 500, with additional Katzkin leather interiors to be shown on more than 100 vehicles throughout the 2011 SEMA show.

Vehicle Interior Selector – VIS

The newest area Katzkin has embarked upon to showcase design is through its Vehicle Interior Selector (VIS), an industry first, and housed within the Katzkin website. Please visit www.katzkin.com.  Found under a separate interior selector tab, consumers and restylers can see over 900 separate pre-designed interior images to show how individual cars can be styled.  Much like an OEM configurator, and through the use of high-tech computer graphics, the VIS creates an interactive means to visualize one's own vehicle interior transformation before an order is ever placed.

While Katzkin's VIS process may mirror other types of OEM configurators, according to O'Connell, no other company in the automotive leather industry has created a way to showcase interiors for consumers.  "Katzkin supports more than 100 makes and models, where individual OEM's may display only a mere handful, and we've created the perfect interactive tool for consumers and dealers to completely visualize exactly how their vehicle will look."  

An additional interactive element for consumers will be the use of Quick Response Codes (QR codes) which will link to the company's VIS program.  Debuting within Katzkin's exhibit area at the SEMA show, QR codes will be found on all graphics shown beside each displayed seat, as well as playing an integral part of Katzkin's on-vehicle marketing kits to be used by dealers. By scanning the code through the use of any smartphone QR scanner, consumers on dealer lots are immediately linked to the VIS site and can begin the process of configuring a more personalized interior space for their chosen vehicle.  

Katzkin additionally uses social media as a marketing outreach tool to showcase a great deal of video, furthering the interactive process.  To view all videos please visit the official Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Katzkin-Leather/118280084893986?sk=app_109143699111405

About Katzkin Leather, Inc.

Founded in 1983 by Mitchell Katz, Katzkin Leather, Inc., of Montebello, Calif. is the leading manufacturer of custom leather interiors.  With a nationwide installer base featuring over 2,500 restyling locations, Katzkin has created more than one million exciting vehicle interiors in the past 28 years.  Katzkin maintains more than 3,000 interior patterns, 135 colors and materials, and more custom options than any other interior manufacturer.  For more information or to become a Katzkin restyler, visit Katzkin online at www.katzkin.com  or call 800.842.0590.

Contact:              
Deb Pollack, for Katzkin Leather, Inc.            
(t) 805-320-9248  (e) [email protected]          

SOURCE Katzkin Leather Inc.