Johnson Controls' Athens, Tennessee Facility Named Best Plants Finalist
16 September 1999
Johnson Controls' Athens, Tennessee Facility Named Industry Week America's Best Plants Finalist
Athens employees commended for
commitment to continuous improvement
PLYMOUTH, Mich., Sept. 16 -- Johnson Controls'
Athens, Tennessee facility -- which manufactures automotive seat frames and
related components -- has been chosen as one of 25 finalists in Industry Week
magazine's annual "America's Best Plants" competition.
The Athens plant was selected as a finalist -- from a group of more than
400 nominees -- because of its performance in several key areas. The facility
achieved:
* significant cost improvements for customers;
* an on-time delivery rate of 100 percent;
* a first-pass yield for all finished products of more than 98 percent;
* a 97 percent reduction of the in-plant defect rate over the past five
years; and
* a 64 percent reduction in product-development cycle time within the
last five years.
"Being named a finalist in Industry Week's annual competition is a great
honor for our Johnson Controls team in Athens," said Paul Pratt, plant manager
for the facility. "We are committed to continuous improvement and providing
world-class products for our customers."
According to Pratt, the quality and caliber of the Athens employees is the
key to the plant's success. The employees embrace continuous improvement
initiatives to ensure that customer expectations are constantly exceeded, he
said.
Customers of the QS-9000-certified Athens plant include DaimlerChrysler,
Ford and General Motors. The 231,000-square-foot facility has approximately
950 employees.
The Athens facility was the first Johnson Controls seating plant in North
America to receive the Ford Q-1 Quality Award. In addition, it has received
two State of Tennessee Environmental Awards and was recognized with the
Johnson Controls Gold Quality Olympics Award during the past two years.
Established in 1990, Industry Week's annual best plants competition requires
nominees to report on performance metrics and practices in categories such as
benchmarking, community and employee involvement, cost reductions, customer
focus, inventory management, new-product development, quality and use of
technology. Winners of the Industry Week America's Best Plants competition
will be announced in October.
Industry Week, a publication of Penton Media, is a management magazine
that helps senior executives in manufacturing and its supporting industries
build, safeguard and expand the wealth of their companies.
The Plymouth, Michigan-based automotive business of Johnson Controls --
which employs more than 57,000 people at 275 facilities worldwide -- achieved
US$9.3 billion in sales for the 1998 fiscal year. In model-year 1999, it will
supply interior products for more than 22 million vehicles.
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 non-residential
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.
CONTACT: David 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.
Web site: http://www.johnsoncontrols.com