Johnson Controls Unveils New Electronics Strategy At 2000 NAIAS
12 January 2000
Johnson Controls Unveils New Electronics Strategy At 2000 North American International Auto Show in Detroit Leading Automotive Interior Supplier
Partners With Top Electronics Companies
DETROIT, Jan. 12 -- Stepping into mainstream electronics,
Johnson Controls last night unveiled -- to more than 200 senior
executives -- its business and development strategy for integrating
electronics into automotive interiors. The company held a special reception at
Cobo Center in Detroit, as part of its participation in the 2000 North
American International Auto Show (NAIAS). Participants in the event included
top officials from major automakers and a number of companies with which
Johnson Controls is developing strategic relationships, including Gentex
Corp., Jabil Circuit, Microchip Technology, Nokia, Royal Philips Electronics,
Tokai Rika and Yazaki.
As a core business strategy, Johnson Controls has made a commitment to
co-develop advanced electronics for integration into automotive vehicle
interiors, supported by a group of strategic relationships.
Jim Geschke, vice president of electronics integration for Johnson
Controls, outlined the new business model, and highlighted its advantages.
He says, the new business model allows Johnson Controls to provide the
latest and greatest technologies to automakers -- despite the vehicle
development cycle timeline. In addition, optimizing design and development of
interior electronics through these new relationships allows for new
technologies to be developed more rapidly and integrated sooner into a
vehicle. Finally, Johnson Controls and the automakers avoid additional capital
investment by leveraging the technology expertise of each company.
"For years, Johnson Controls has provided high-quality automotive interior
electronics integration and innovation with successful branded products, such
as the HomeLink(R) Universal Transceiver and the PathPoint(R) Digital
Compass," Geschke said. "What we're doing now is leveraging our experience in
design, development and integration of interior electronics, and expanding
that through co-development projects with industry leaders."
Geschke added that Johnson Controls' role as an electronics integrator
becomes increasingly important as the company prepares proposals for, and is
awarded, total interior contracts.
According to Geschke, Johnson Controls' understanding of how people
interact with the vehicle interior, coupled with the electronics expertise of
each company, adds value that is unobtainable through the traditional
buyer/seller relationship.
Larry Alles, vice president and general manager of worldwide purchasing
for Johnson Controls added, "All automotive tier-one suppliers will need to
maintain the traditional business models for a portion of their business.
However, we believe that Johnson Controls needs to explore new ways of
creating improved return on assets by aligning investments and sharing
innovation. This can be achieved by creating unique relationships that bring
value to our automaker customers through enhancements in tooling, common
design, validation and warranty."
Geschke said, "Johnson Controls is developing special relationships with
industry leaders in specific areas of expertise. By leveraging the value each
company brings to the portfolio, we are no longer constrained by resources."
Each one of the following companies will work closely with Johnson
Controls to integrate their expertise into current and future Johnson Controls
products. The relationships include:
* Gentex Corp., based in Zeeland, Michigan provides an integration outlet
for popular Johnson Controls products such as HomeLink and the
PathPoint compass, allowing automakers to offer these products to
consumers through a Gentex mirror product;
* Jabil Circuit, Inc., located in St. Petersburg, Florida has been a
long-standing partner of Johnson Controls. The company provides global
contract manufacturing and design services for electronic circuit
boards;
* Microchip Technology, Inc., with headquarters in Chandler, Arizona, is
working with Johnson Controls to deliver tomorrow's advanced solutions
for convenience, security and safety systems by providing the KEELOQ(R)
code hopping technology for the HomeLink Universal Transmitter."
* Nokia, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, is the world's leading
mobile phone supplier and a leading supplier of mobile and fixed
telecom networks and will bring wireless connectivity to Johnson
Controls-designed interiors to enable in-car mobile internet, safety
and infotainment services;
* Royal Philips Electronics, a world leader of consumer electronics based
in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, is supplying the flat panel and DVD
drive for Johnson Controls' AutoVision(R) entertainment system and is
working with Johnson Controls on the integration of consumer
electronics into the interior;
* Tokai Rika, based in Nagoya, Japan, is a provider of automotive
interior switches with optimized user interface and ergonomic
refinement; and
* Yazaki North America, a leading supplier of Electrical Distribution
Systems and Advanced Vehicle Network Infrastructures based in Canton,
Michigan with world headquarters in Susono, Japan in concert with
Johnson Controls will redefine the integration of power and signal
distribution throughout the interior.
The Plymouth, Michigan-based automotive business of Johnson Controls
employs more than 65,000 people at 275 facilities worldwide. In model year
2000, it will supply interior products for more than 23 million vehicles. The
automotive business achieved US$12.1 billion in sales for the 1999 fiscal
year.
Johnson Controls, Inc. is a global market leader in automotive systems and
facility management and control. In the automotive market, it is a major
supplier of seating and interior systems, and batteries. For non-residential
facilities, Johnson Controls provides building control systems and services,
energy management and integrated facility management. Johnson Controls
, founded in 1885, has headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its
sales for 1999 totaled US$16.1 billion.
NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information about Johnson Controls and its
products, visit http://www.johnsoncontrols.com.
CONTACT: David Roznowski of Johnson Controls, Inc., 734-254-5632.
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/473547.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 473547.
