Johnson Controls Inc (JCI) has started production of molded polyurethane foam for automotive seats at its new plant in Queretaro (Mexico), says a press release. The construction of the plant in Queretaro started in March 2013 and was completed in October the same year. The plant, spread on an area of 100,000 square feet, has one foam line. It currently employs 150 people. The company will hire more employees once the plant reaches full capacity, which is expected to happen in another five years. The plant will supply seating foams to OEMs in central Mexico.
Significance: JCI has been taking some restructuring actions to boost its profitability amid slowdown in the automotive industry. The new plant in Mexico will help the company mitigate risk associated with slow growth in the European economy. Lately, JCI has been pushing efforts to strengthen its domain in automotive seating. In October 2013, Andreas Eppinger, JCI’s group vice-president for technology management, told Automotive News in an interview that it is focusing on reducing the weight of seats. Also, in January this year, the company developed an automatic seat pre-adjustment system, which allows a driver to adjust the seat automatically depending on his size.
