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TechnoTrim to Supply Seat Covers For Ford, GM and Nissan

27 April 1999

TechnoTrim to Supply Automotive Seat Covers For Ford, GM and Nissan from New Plant in Mexico

Spring 1999 start-up of 190,000-square-foot plant
reflects company's growth, will create 1,100 jobs

    LIVONIA, Mich., April 26 -- Livonia, Michigan-based
TechnoTrim, a major supplier of automotive seat covers, is preparing to launch
a new production facility in northeast Mexico. Senior executives from the
company and local officials were on hand last week for a grand opening
ceremony in Saltillo, Mexico -- the site of TechnoTrim's new, 191,000-square-
foot plant where production will be launched this month. (Saltillo is located
southwest of Monterrey, Mexico.)
    The company -- a joint-venture between Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Johnson
Controls and Tachi-S, of Tokyo, Japan -- has been producing trim covers for
DaimlerChrysler at a temporary location in Saltillo since July 1998. Johnson
Controls is a leading global supplier of automotive interior systems.
    In June, TechnoTrim's Saltillo facility will begin supplying seat covers
to Bridgewater Interiors, LLC -- a joint venture between Johnson Controls and
Epsilon, LLC located in Detroit, Michigan. Bridgewater Interiors will supply
automotive interior systems to General Motors in Detroit. Also in the summer
of 1999, the Saltillo plant will launch production of seat covers for Nissan
Quest and Mercury Villager minivans. Finished auto seat covers will be
supplied to Johnson Controls seat assembly facilities in the United States for
Ford and Mercury models.
    TechnoTrim currently operates facilities in Glasgow, Kentucky; Maysville,
Kentucky; Stockton, California, and Ramos Arizpe, Mexico.
    "Opening this new facility is a positive and important step for us, and
reflects the growth of our world-class operations," said Paul Elliott, vice
president and general manager for TechnoTrim. "The Saltillo plant will enable
us to satisfy the expectations of our customers and create many new jobs," he
said.
    The new facility -- with a work force of approximately 1,100 people --
will produce more than 250,000 sets of automotive trim covers annually.
    TechnoTrim -- which was founded in 1986 -- currently employs more than
2,000 people at five locations. Cloth, vinyl and leather seat covers, and
other "cut-and-sew" products from TechnoTrim, are integrated into dozens of
vehicles manufactured in North America -- including cars and trucks built by
DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, Honda, Mitsubishi, NUMMI, Nissan and Toyota.
    Johnson Controls is the world's leading supplier of automotive
seating and interior systems. Tachi-S is Japan's largest independent
manufacturer of automotive seating systems.

    /CONTACT:  Dave Roznowski of Johnson Controls, 734-254-5632/
    /Company News On-Call:  http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/473547.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 473547/