Johnson Controls and Local Minority Business Group Form Venture
27 October 1998
Johnson Controls and Local Minority Business Group Form Joint Venture to Supply Interior Systems for General Motors
New plant in Detroit's Empowerment Zone
will begin production in 1999, create jobs for 180 people
PLYMOUTH, Mich., Oct. 26 -- Johnson Controls, Inc.
, of Plymouth, Michigan and a Detroit-based minority business group
have established Bridgewater Interiors, LLC as a joint venture that will
supply automotive interior systems to General Motors , beginning in
the summer of 1999. As a result of the joint venture, 180 new jobs will be
created in Detroit.
Bridgewater Interiors has been awarded a five-year contract worth an
estimated $900 million to supply interior systems for GM vehicles beginning in
model-year 2000. It will operate a new 100,000-square-foot facility in
Detroit's Empowerment Zone that will build products for delivery "just-in-
time" to GM.
"This joint venture is characteristic of Johnson Controls' strong support
of GM's Equal Partner Program," said Harold R. Kutner, GM vice president and
group executive, Worldwide Purchasing and North American Production Control
Logistics. "We applaud their efforts and look forward to their continued
commitment to Detroit and minority suppliers."
Bridgewater Interiors -- which is applying for a minority business
enterprise certification under the rules of the Michigan Minority Business
Development Council -- is a joint venture between Johnson Controls and a local
business group that includes Ron Hall and Bill Pickard of Detroit.
Hall currently serves as president of the Michigan Minority Business
Development Council (MMBDC) in Detroit. The MMBDC -- a voluntary organization
with more than 1,300 members -- works to create linkages between major
corporations and minority businesses. He will be resigning his post at the
MMBDC to become chairman and chief executive officer of Bridgewater Interiors.
Hall previously served as an assistant vice president at New Detroit, Inc.,
and as owner of two retail food service operations.
Pickard, a majority shareholder and business executive in three Michigan-
based automotive supply companies, will be on the board of Bridgewater
Interiors. He has 15 years of experience leading automotive businesses, and
his firms have supplied interior trim and plastic components to major
automakers -- including General Motors, Ford and Toyota.
The Detroit plant of Bridgewater Interiors is located at 4617 Fort Street,
near the intersection of Fort and Clark streets. The site was developed by
Fort-Jefferson LLC, a partnership which includes Lopatin & Company, of West
Bloomfield, Michigan.
Demolition work began on the site in April. The facility construction was
completed earlier this month. Production start-up is planned for July 1999. At
full production, the joint-venture operation will employ 180 people.
"We look forward to providing world-class interior products to General
Motors through this new minority joint-venture in Detroit," said Mike
Johnston, president of the Americas Automotive Group for Johnson Controls.
"Our company is committed to promoting and supporting minority businesses, as
part of our corporate-wide minority sourcing strategy. We applaud GM for its
continued commitment to minority supplier development and for helping make
this joint venture possible. Their equal partners program is the model for the
industry."
Commenting on the new venture, Ron Hall said, "This is an exciting
opportunity to establish an outstanding supply operation with Johnson Controls
and to grow in the interior systems business with an industry leader. I think
it is important to congratulate both General Motors and Johnson Controls for
their strong efforts in the area of minority business development."
The site for the new plant is within Detroit's Empowerment Zone and one of
the state's 11 newly created Renaissance Zones. Governor John Engler said
Bridgewater Interiors' investment in the City of Detroit's Renaissance Zone
will provide new jobs, income and opportunities.
"We want to thank Johnson Controls, Detroit businessmen Ron Hall and Bill
Pickard, and General Motors for putting together a new company and choosing
Detroit's Renaissance Zone as its home," Engler said. "It's that kind of faith
in the future of this area that has brought Michigan and the Detroit metro
area back."
Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer said, "I am delighted to see General Motors
and Johnson Controls join forces with Ron Hall and Bill Pickard in the
creation of Bridgewater Interiors. Detroit continues to benefit from increased
recognition of our competitive advantages and value of partnership between
Fortune 500 firms and minority entrepreneurs."
Detroit's Empowerment Zone -- an area targeted for urban revitalization
supported by the federal government -- is designed to create jobs, strengthen
families and rebuild neighborhoods. The city will receive federal grants to
improve the quality of life for residents and tax breaks and other incentives
to entice businesses to relocate or expand within an 18-square-mile area in
southwestern, central and eastern sections of Detroit.
Renaissance Zones are tax-free development districts established in 1997
by the state of Michigan to encourage business investment in distressed urban
and rural areas.
In 1997, General Motors Worldwide Purchasing sourced $1.7 billion from
about 620 minority suppliers in the United States. GM's Tier-two program --
which requires Tier-one suppliers to budget 5 percent of their purchases to
certified minority suppliers -- generated an additional $400 million in
minority contracts.
In 1998, Johnson Controls will purchase goods and services from 48
Minority Business Enterprises (MBE) totaling $115 million. The Plymouth,
Michigan-based automotive operations of Johnson Controls will supply interior
products for more than 22 million vehicles in 1998 and achieved US$9.3 Billion
in sales for the 1998 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 nonresidential
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 1998
totaled US$12.6 billion.
/NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos of Mike Johnston, Ron Hall and Bill Pickard as
well as an artist rendering of the Bridgewater Interiors facility can be
obtained by calling Dave Roznowski at 734-254-5632./
/CONTACT: Dave Roznowski of Johnson Controls, 734-254-5632/
/Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/473547.html or fax,
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/Web site: http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/