Johnson Controls Automotive Seating Honors its Best Suppliers in Europe

BURSCHEID, Germany, October 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

19 companies receive European Supplier Awards 2013

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Johnson Controls Automotive Seating, a global leader in automotive seating and seating components, today honored its top-performing suppliers with the European Supplier Awards. The awards were given for the third consecutive year.

"Johnson Controls Automotive Seating places high importance on effective supplier management. Excellent suppliers are a competitive advantage in our industry," says Kelly Bysouth, group vice president Purchasing at Johnson Controls Automotive Seating. "With the Supplier Awards we acknowledge the value our best suppliers brought to us in the last twelve months."

The European Supplier Awards 2013 include Performance Awards and Leadership Awards. For the Performance Awards, Johnson Controls Automotive Seating awarded points for important factors such as quality, cost awareness, logistics, design, technology and service. Depending on the total number of points achieved, Johnson Controls granted Supplier Performance Awards in gold, silver or bronze.

Higa S.R.O. from Slovakia, Robert Bosch GmbH from Germany and Scherdel Marienberg GmbH from Germany received Supplier Performance Awards in gold. Asmo Co. Ltd. (Japan), Baumann Springs Ltd. (Switzerland), voestalpine Stamptec (Germany), Izo-Blok SA (Poland), Havd-Group AB (Sweden) and BASF Polyurethanes GmbH (Germany) were awarded Supplier Performance Awards in silver. Eight companies received Supplier Performance Awards in bronze: W.E.T. Automotive Systems (Germany), SINFLEX Indústria de Molas Técnicas Lda (Portugal), Leoni Wiring Systems (Germany), GABEC s.c. P.J. Kotkowscy (Poland), Estampaciones Industriales S.A. (Spain), Industrias Garita S.L. (Spain), Harbort GmbH & Co. KG (Germany) and Bayer MaterialScience AG (Germany).

Four companies receive Leadership Awards

Leadership Awards were awarded this year in four categories: EOC Belgium N.V., which supplies a compound formulation for a new line of lightweight automotive seats, received the Leadership Award for innovation for being an important partner of Johnson Controls in the development and improvement of this product. Innovative solutions developed by EOC in cooperation with Johnson Controls have allowed the compound formulation to be manufactured with a very consistent quality that results in an overall improvement of the product performance.

Bayer MaterialScience AG (Germany) was awarded the Leadership Award in the sustainability category for succeeding in combining excellent quality performance with strong environmental improvement programs and a very high score in Johnson Controls' carbon disclosure project.

Johnson Controls awarded the Leadership Award for continuous improvement to Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany). The company supplies motors and drives for car seats with electric seat adjustment functions. Robert Bosch GmbH worked proactively with Johnson Controls to implement continuous improvements.

Kostel Promet D.O.O. (Croatia), which cuts and sews seat covers for Johnson Controls, received the Leadership Award for customer satisfaction for their exceptional commitment to continuous improvement, lean management and flawless project execution and for following Johnson Controls requirements in all areas.

Digital images are available online from http://www.johnsoncontrols.co.uk/press.

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About Johnson Controls

Johnson Controls is a global diversified technology and industrial leader serving customers in more than 150 countries. Our 168,000 employees create quality products, services and solutions to optimize energy and operational efficiencies of buildings; lead-acid automotive batteries and advanced batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles; and interior systems for automobiles. Our commitment to sustainability dates back to our roots in 1885, with the invention of the first electric room thermostat. Through our growth strategies and by increasing market share we are committed to delivering value to shareholders and making our customers successful.

About Johnson Controls Automotive Experience

Johnson Controls Automotive Experience is a global leader in automotive seating, overhead systems, door and instrument panels, and interior electronics. We support all major automakers in the differentiation of their vehicles through our products, technologies and advanced manufacturing capabilities. With more than 240 plants worldwide, we are where our customers need us to be. Consumers have enjoyed the comfort and style of our products, from single components to complete interiors. With our global capability we supply more than 50 million cars per year.

For more information, please contact:

Johnson Controls GmbH
Automotive Seating
Industriestrasse 20-30
51399 Burscheid
Germany
Oliver Herkert
Tel.: +49-2174-65-4348
E-mail: oliver.herkert@jci.com
Internet: http://www.johnsoncontrols.co.uk