Johnson Controls' technology management recognised by Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology

February 1, 2013: Johnson Controls, the global leader in automotive seating and seating components, has been named one of five winners of the ‘Successful Practices in Technology Management 2012’ consortium benchmarking in technology management conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (IPT) in Aachen, Germany. A total of 160 companies from across Europe took part in the project, which was led by the IPT for the fourth time.

"We are absolutely delighted to have been recognized by the Fraunhofer IPT. Being named one of the best companies in Europe for technology management is both an endorsement and incentive," said Dr. Andreas Eppinger, group vice-president of Technology Management for Johnson Controls Automotive Seating. "Participating in the consortium benchmarking has given us numerous valuable insights and momentum for our work." The IPT joined a consortium of renowned partners to analyze technology management in a multi-stage process at 160 companies that volunteered for the nine-month benchmarking project.

It evaluated the organisational structure of technology management, strategic technology planning, early recognition of new technologies, industry-spanning innovations using developments from other industries and open innovation approaches that involve external developers in the innovation process. Johnson Controls impressed the jury with early recognition of new technologies, which was considered advanced compared to the other participating companies. The consortium also recognized Johnson Controls' support for technology management through IT tools as well as its excellent performance in all other categories.

"Johnson Controls has impressively demonstrated that technology management can definitely be put on a successful footing in even a short space of time given the necessary management attention and appropriate resources. Well-thought-out, globally standardized processes with specific IT support have proven the key to its success in this instance," said Prof. Dr.-Ing. Günther Schuh of the Fraunhofer IPT at the closing conference for the consortium benchmarking in Aachen.

Photograph: The drivers of Johnson Controls' successful technology management (L-R): Carsten Geisbüsch, Jörgen von Bodenhausen, Dieter Kerkhoff, Deborah Wines, Michael Thomas and Dr. Andreas Eppinger with Prof. Dr.-Ing. Günther Schuh of the Fraunhofer IPT.