Johnson Controls Delivers Comfort for Consumers
14 April 2000
Johnson Controls Delivers Comfort for Consumers With the Development of the Self Adjusting Comfort Seat
Innovative product featured in
General Motors' 2000 Cadillac DeVille
LOS ANGELES, April 14 Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) today
is demonstrating to automakers and journalists its Self-Adjusting Comfort Seat
(SACS), a comfort must in a market -- or anywhere -- where long commutes can
be a daily norm. The leading automotive interior supplier is showing off what
Cadillac owners have already experienced through the optional driver and front
passenger Adaptive Seat option in the 2000 Cadillac DeVille DHS and DTS.
The SACS system is a computer-controlled seat system with automatic
contour adjustment in critical comfort zones. Contour adjustment is achieved
through a series of strategically positioned air cells. When the seat is
turned on, the pressure in each of the 10 cells is periodically adjusted in
sequence or upon the occupant's command. The cell pressure is regulated by a
closed-loop custom comfort algorithm.
The SACS system offers the following benefits:
-- Improved comfort for all occupant sizes;
-- Simple and convenient controls;
-- High consumer delight;
-- A way for consumers to personalize their seats; and
-- Improved safety by providing optimal driver alertness positioning.
"Our extensive consumer research has shown that interior comfort is a top
priority among vehicle buyers," said Nathan Young, group vice president of new
product development, marketing planning and industrial design - worldwide for
Johnson Controls. "It's a feature that differentiates vehicles, affects
purchase decisions and strongly influences consumer satisfaction."
According to Young, this is precisely why Johnson Controls developed its
"state-of-the-art" ComfortLab(TM) -- to test interior products, like the SACS
system, for optimal comfort and ensure that the company has got the feeling of
"just right" down to a science.
Johnson Controls launched the 3,200-square-foot Comfort Engineering Lab at
its Plymouth, Michigan technical center in July 1998. The $3.5 million
facility features the most advanced technologies for researching interior
comfort and designing products to optimize comfort.
Bridgewater Interiors, LLC -- a minority joint venture operation of
Johnson Controls and Epsilon, LLC -- integrates the optional SACS system into
the 2000 Cadillac DeVille DHS and DTS.
Formed in October 1998, Bridgewater Interiors, LLC manufactures complete
seat systems for just-in-time delivery to Cadillac's Hamtramck, Mich. assembly
operation. The 125,000-square-foot Bridgewater facility is located in Detroit
in a State Renaissance Zone and Federal Empowerment Zone.
The Plymouth, Michigan (U.S.A.)-based automotive business of Johnson
Controls -- which employs more than 65,000 people at 275 facilities worldwide
-- achieved US$12.1 billion in sales for the 1999 fiscal year. In model-year
2000, it will supply interior products for more than 23 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 (U.S.A.) Its sales
for 1999 totaled US$16.1 billion.
NOTE TO EDITORS: For access to other Johnson Controls news releases and
additional company information, visit the company's site on the World Wide Web
at http://www.johnsoncontrols.com .
CONTACT: David Roznowski of Johnson Controls, Inc., 734-254-5632.
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/473547.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 473547.