Johnson Controls Recognized for Providing Resources to Help Educate Children In South Africa

Company Supports President Bush's Africa Initiative on Education

MILWAUKEE, Sept. 19 -- The South Africa BookSmart Foundation (SABSF) today presented Johnson Controls, Inc. with its Chairman's Award for supporting the collection and distribution of books to schools and communities in South Africa.

The award presentation was part of a South African National Book Launch held today in Durban, South Africa. Darlene Rose, vice president of corporate development and strategy at Johnson Controls, accepted the award on behalf of Johnson Controls.

SABSF supports literacy for the children of South Africa and its neighboring countries. Johnson Controls was one of the first companies to financially support the organization through a donation of $100,000. SABSF received renewed momentum after President Bush announced the Africa Initiative on Education, which includes sending five million books to Africa. As part of the book launch, companies like Johnson Controls have been called upon to assist the overall effort to improve literacy in South Africa.

"Johnson Controls recognizes that the United States is truly a privileged nation, and in most communities our citizens view having books to read and educate our youth as an automatic right," said Rose. "In South Africa, children do not have this educational resource and, as such, the literacy rate suffers. Johnson Controls is pleased to support the SABSF initiative."

Often the books sent by SABSF have been the sole source of educational resource and academic materials available to students, teachers and community resource centers in many townships and rural schools. Books are collected from K-12 schools and universities in the United States. They are distributed to schools and communities throughout South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal free of charge via local resource centers located in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg. Almost two million books have been shipped through the Africa Initiative on Education program and USAID - Africa.

Johnson Controls presence in South Africa

In South Africa, Johnson Controls employs over 1,200 employees at five manufacturing plants that make automotive seats, cockpits and other automotive interior products. The company's building control technology is used at the Melrose Arch, Gateway Shopping Centre in KwaZulu Natal, the International Convention Centre in Cape Town and the refurbished International Airport at Cape Town and Durban. Johnson Controls also provides facilities management solutions to IBM, Oracle, the Southern Sun Hotel Group, Vodacom and British American Tobacco locations in South Africa.

About South Africa BookSmart Foundation

The South Africa BookSmart Foundation was founded in 1993 by Robert J. Brown, Chairman and CEO of B&C Associates, Inc., a communications firm based in High Point, NC. Information about The South Africa BookSmart Foundation (SABSF) is available on the Web at www.sabooksmart.com .

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 integrated seating and interior systems, and batteries. For non-residential facilities, Johnson Controls provides control systems and services including comfort, energy and security management. Johnson Controls , founded in 1885, has headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its sales for 2002 totaled $20.1 billion. For more information on Johnson Controls, Inc., visit the company's web site at www.johnsoncontrols.com .

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