MILWAUKEE — Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) says it is investing $118 million to build a third automotive battery plant in China, to be located in Chongqing. JCI says the plant will complement its existing plants located in Shanghai and Changxing, and will expand the company’s geographic presence to the central western part of the country.
"Our recent investments in China are an indication of the importance of this market for Johnson Controls," said Alex Molinaroli, president of Johnson Controls Power Solutions. "In three years we will be growing from a single plant to three plants that will produce more than 18 million automotive batteries annually. These plants support our plan to install capacity for 30 million batteries annually in China by 2015."
The 30,000-square-meter plant will produce automotive lead-acid batteries using world-class Johnson Controls Power Solutions technologies, including its patented PowerFrame grid technology. The plant will have capacity to produce 6 million batteries annually with the start of production slated to begin in 2012.
"Motorcycles and cars have become Chongqing’s leading industry, with 21 automakers located there alone," said Shu Yang, vice president and general manager for Johnson Controls Power Solutions in Asia Pacific. "There is also a rich environment for innovation and research and development. The city is home to 50 universities, 400 technological schools and 100 academies, which adds up to well over 1 million students and more than 400,000 college graduates every year."
Ground breaking for the plant will take place in January 2011, with production slated to ramp up beginning in January 2012.
In addition to the new Chongqing plant, Johnson Controls’ previously announced Changxing automotive battery plant will launch production in early 2011 with an expected capacity of 8 million batteries annually. The company will later this year begin locating its fourth plant, with a capacity of 6 million batteries, in the northern region of China.
