Johnson Controls

History

In 1883, Warren S. Johnson, a professor at the State Normal School in Whitewater, Wisconsin, received a patent for the first electric room thermostat. His invention helped launch the building control industry and was the impetus for a new company. Johnson and a group of Milwaukee investors incorporated the Johnson Electric Service Company in 1885 to manufacture, install and service automatic temperature regulation systems for buildings. After Johnson's death in 1911, the company decided to focus on its temperature control business for nonresidential buildings. The company was renamed Johnson Controls in 1974.

On November 21, 2005, Johnson Controls Inc. said it must restate financial results for fiscal years 2003 and 2004 and the first three quarters of fiscal 2005. The changes would have no impact on net income, earnings per share or the financial position as previously reported. The Johnson Controls plant in Lakeshore, Ontario closed in late March 2010 and the property was sold. In 2013, Stephen Roell retired and Alex Molinaroli took his position as CEO and chairman of the board.

Merger with Tyco

In January 2016, Johnson Controls announced plans to merge with Tyco International to create a company based in Ireland. The merger will save the company about $150-million per year in taxes. The new company will be called Johnson Controls International Plc.

Hillary Clinton condemned the company for wanting to escape U.S. taxes through the merger after having "begged" the government for financial help in 2008. The Johnson deal, termed "outrageous" by Fortune magazine, qualifies as a "super inversion" because Tyco shareholders will own 44% of the company, thus avoiding penalties that the United States Department of the Treasury has imposed on other inversion deals.

The merger was completed on September 9, 2016.

Women's work rights

In 1982, Johnson Controls enacted what it called a "fetal protection policy", which denied women the right to work on the battery production line because of the potential harm to a fetus they might conceive. Women were allowed to work on the production line only if they could prove that "...their inability to bear children had been medically documented." In April 1984, the United Auto Workers sued Johnson Controls on behalf of three employees. These employees were Mary Craig, who had chosen to be sterilized to avoid losing her job, Elsie Nason, a 50-year-old divorcee, who had suffered a loss of compensation when she was transferred from a high paying job that exposed her to lead, and Donald Penney, who had been denied a request for a leave of absence for the purpose of lowering his blood lead levels because he intended to become a father. The case was argued before the Supreme Court on October 10, 1990 and was decided on March 20, 1991. The Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. This was a landmark ruling because it affirmed that "...it is no more important for the courts than it is for individual employers to decide whether a woman's reproductive role is more important to herself and her family than her economic role."

Business units

The company’s operations are segmented into four business units: Building Efficiency, Global WorkPlace Solutions, Power Solutions and Automotive Experience.

Building Efficiency

The Building Efficiency business unit designs, produces, installs and services heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, industrial refrigeration, building management systems, fire and security systems and mechanical equipment for commercial and residential buildings. The brands produced under this business unit are York, TempMaster, Metasys, Panoptix, Frick and Sabroe. This unit also works with organizations to reduce the energy consumption and operating costs of their buildings. This includes retrofitting existing buildings such as the Empire State Building and working on maximizing efficiency in new construction such as the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Building Efficiency is the company’s longest-running business unit, dating to 1885 when Johnson founded the Johnson Electric Service Company after patenting the electric thermostat in 1883. As of 2012, the business unit operated from 700 branch offices in more than 150 countries.

Johnson Controls was one of the defendants in a multimillion-dollar federal court lawsuit in San Juan, Puerto Rico in a case where 98 people perished and 140 were injured in a fire at the DuPont Plaza Hotel and its casino on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1986. The plaintiffs claimed that Johnson Controls sold and installed an energy management system that failed to give early warning of the fire. After nine months of trial, the company and its energy management system were absolved of blame when the court issued a directed verdict. When this trial was completed the plaintiffs had accumulated approximately $220,908,549.00 in damages as a result of various settlements and a jury verdict against some other defendants.

Global WorkPlace Solutions

The Global WorkPlace Solutions business unit provides outsourced facilities management services globally. It also manages corporate real estate on behalf of its customers including acquiring and disposing of property, administering leases, and managing building related projects such as equipment replacements. On September 23, 2015, CBRE, Inc. purchased the Global Workplace Solutions business unit, retaining the name "Global Workplace Solutions".

Power Solutions

The Power Solutions business unit designs and manufactures automotive batteries for passenger cars, heavy and light duty trucks, utility vehicles, motorcycles, golf carts and boats. It supplies more than one third of the world’s lead-acid batteries to automakers and aftermarket retailers including Wal-Mart, Sears and BMW. Lead acid battery brands produced under this business unit include OPTIMA, Heliar, LTH, and VARTA automotive batteries. This part of the company also manufactures Lithium-ion cells and complete battery systems to power hybrid and electric vehicles such as the Ford Fusion and Daimler’s S-Class 400. Additionally, it manufactures Absorbent Glass Matt (AGM) and Enhanced Flooded Batteries (EFB) batteries to power Start-Stop vehicles such as the Chevy Malibu and Ford Fusion. As of 2012, the business unit operated from 60 locations worldwide.

Automotive Experience

The Automotive Experience business unit supplies automotive seating, interiors and electronics to automakers. It is one of the largest suppliers of car interiors in the world. The seating division designs and manufactures automotive seats and supplies them on a just-in-time schedule. It also designs and manufactures seating components, including mechanisms, tracks, structures foams, fabrics and trim, making Johnson Controls the largest automotive seat supplier in the world. A separate interiors division produces overhead systems, headliners, door panels, instrument panels, and overhead and floor consoles for automotive interiors. Additionally, an electronics division designs and manufactures analog and digital instrument clusters, infotainment systems and hands free electronics. Brands produced under this business unit include RECARO automotive seats and Keiper. As of 2012, the business unit operated from 240 locations worldwide. On January 12, 2016 Johnson Controls announced that its remaining Automotive Experience holdings will spin-off and become Adient. This will be finalized on October 1, 2016, and begin to be publicly traded on the NYSE as ticker symbol ADNT on October 3, 2016.

Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions

Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions (JCS) was a joint venture between Johnson Controls and French battery company Saft Groupe S.A.. It was officially launched in January 2006.

Varta established a JCS development centre at its German HQ, following the setting-up of Varta-SAFT joint venture.

Johnson Controls is exhibiting a plug-in hybrid concept called the re3. Johnson Controls produced cells for lithium-ion hybrid vehicle batteries in France under the joint venture with Saft. Battery assemblies were developed and produced in Hannover(Germany) and Milwaukee(USA)

Despite some signs of promise, Johnson Controls was increasingly dissatisfied with the restrictions of the agreement and also sought a more important ally. In May 2011, the American company requested the dissolution of Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions LLC to the Delaware Court of Chancery. The two companies agreed the separation and Johnson Controls paid Saft 145 million dollars for its shares in the joint venture as well as for the right to use certain technology developed by it. Johnson Controls retained the Michigan facility built by the partnership. The French joint facility was transferred to Saft.

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