Getting charged for new business

Hybrid-electric vehicles have found an early adopters audience, but predictions that HEVs will soon sway the mainstream public could spur high-volume sales and better returns for suppliers like Johnson Controls.

After spending 30 years with Johnson Controls' seating and interiors group, Alan Mumby is now a key cog in the leadership chain that networks two companies and one joint venture (JV) to the same business-supplying advanced-technology batteries for hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) as well as electric vehicles. JCI's partner, Saft, has been developing advanced-technology batteries for years, while Johnson Controls' years of development work with advanced battery technology became more entrenched with the opening of a dedicated research laboratory in 2005.

“The joint venture is the hybrid representative for Saft and Johnson Controls, which incidentally is the world's largest manufacturer of lead-acid batteries for OEMs and the automotive aftermarket,” said Mumby, Vice President and General Manager for JCI's HEV Battery Business Unit and CEO of Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions, the JV company. “We've combined our technical teams so that we focus our energies collectively. The joint venture gets to use all patents of Johnson Controls and Saft, and all the technology has been licensed to the joint venture.”