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 DetroitLeading 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. 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