As Wisconsin’s largest, publicly owned company, Johnson Controls has come a long way from its humble beginnings when Professor Warren Johnson patented the first electric room thermostat in 1883. Now, more than 120 years later, JCI is a global market leader in automotive systems and facility management and control.
Chances are that if you’re warm in the winter and cool in the summer, you can thank Johnson Controls for one of its facility control products. JCI is a world leader in providing facility management and consulting services for many Fortune 500 companies, as well as many education, healthcare, industrial, government and office buildings. The company manages more than one billion square feet worldwide.
In its automotive seating and interiors division, JCI’s customers include every major automotive manufacturer: DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Toyota and Volkswagen. Likewise, JCI’s battery division produces original equipment, as well as automotive replacement parts, for other major players, such as Advance Auto, AutoZone, Interstate Battery System of America, as well as many auto manufacturers.
Even though JCI is an enormous, global company, communicating its ethics policy isn’t difficult. Like almost everything else, it’s translated into 14 different languages.
“We have one standard”, said John Barth, president and chief executive officer. “Ethics is just the way we run our business.”
This commitment to ethics has allowed the company to grow and prosper. The company has seen 58 consecutive years of sales increases, 14 consecutive years of earning increases and 29 successive years of dividend increases.
In fact, Professor Johnson fostered many of the principles that have guided the company for over a century, including a focus on customer satisfaction, unquestioned integrity and a dedication to deliver on its promises.
Barth focuses on the long-term view of what’s good for the company, and sometimes that means sacrificing short-term gain for long-term growth, he said.
“As the CEO, I’m worried about the next 100 years of Johnson Control,” he said. “Whatever we to today is going to impact that.”
Because of its size, JCI feels an obligation to service in its communities, Barth said. In fact, JCI was one of the first Wisconsin companies to provide financial contributions in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
“We did this not only because we have employees in the gulf coast, but because it was the right thing to do,” Barth said.
-Written by, Susan Bach – published Oct 2, 2005 Journal Sentinel Sunday Edition