Johnson Controls in Sycamore transitions to spin-off company

SYCAMORE – The Sycamore office for Johnson Controls is now part of the company’s spin-off entity called Adient that supplies automotive seating and interiors.

Johnson Controls, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Wisconsin, announced in January 2016 that its Automotive Experience business unit would become Adient, a separate, publicly traded company.

Other business units, including Building Efficiency, Global WorkPlace Solutions and Power Solutions, produce things such as automotive batteries and electronics and air conditioning, ventilation and heating equipment for buildings, among other products.

The division took effect in October, and the Sycamore location at 1701 Bethany Road is one of more than 20 Adient manufacturing facilities in North America.

Mayor Ken Mundy said Johnson Controls has been a strong employer for the Sycamore community and an important part of the local economy for about 30 years.

He said the company also has demonstrated that it is “plugged into the community,” as the facility has offered its cafeteria for Sunday Mass to a local church that was damaged in a fire.

“It’s indicative of how community-minded our companies are,” he said.

Mundy said it is encouraging to see the company’s progression.

A phone call to Adient’s American media contact was not returned by press time Monday.

Johnson Controls employs 130,000 people at 2,000 locations worldwide, according to its website.

Johnson Controls also announced last January that it was merging with Tyco International, a security systems company in Ireland, to form Johnson Controls International PLC, according to the website.

The company got its start as Johnson Electric Service Company in 1885 after founder Warren S. Johnson received a patent for the first electric room thermostat, according its the website.