TMI Products Goes ‘Custom’ at SEMA 2014

TMI Products, a leading manufacturer of automotive interior components, stepped up its range of custom-looking products at this month’s 2014 SEMA Show.

When we reported on TMI’s display last year, they had just expanded their line of sports seats and made available matching front/rear door panels and custom center consoles. They had also recently rolled out bow-style headliners in suede with matching sun visors and sail panels.

This year, TMI continued to innovate. We stopped by their SEMA booth to learn about four new product developments that every trimmer should check out.

New to TMI is a kit that transforms rear bench seats in 1960s–70s era Mustangs, Camaros, Chevelles and Novas into two bucket seats, with a full-length console running straight down the middle. The kit includes upholstery, new foam pads and directions. The upholstery is also customizable — so if you don’t like all the grommets featured on TMI’s display seats, you can order covers without them.

TMI has also expanded its range of one-piece headliners. Now, in addition to coupe and fastback models of the Mustang, you can order Uniseuede or vinyl one-piece headliners for the Camaro, Chevelle and Nova.

Also new to the mix, TMI offers interior trunk kits in five different styles, as well as dash pads wrapped in leather or vinyl with French seaming.

According to sales manager Mario De Leon, who gave us a tour of TMI’s SEMA booth, the company is shifting focus from restoration to custom-looking components.

“We’re going to custom now because there are so many companies doing the restoration stuff,” he said. “We can go custom and it makes it harder for them to follow us… because we can do whatever we want. We can change colors, patterns, stitch and everything.”

Of course, there’s a limit to how much customizing TMI, and other companies that sell plug-in-play interior components, allow. While customers can choose among a range of colors, fabrics and even order slight design modification, at the end of the day these items are still mass-produced.

Nevertheless, customers who can’t afford custom, but still want the look, will find plenty of appeal in these products. Shops can order and install them — making a quick buck with little headache.

It’s not quite upholstery, but it is a growing market. In fact, next year TMI Products plans to introduce full interior kits for 1960s-70s era trucks, including the Chevy C10 and Ford F100.