Johnson Controls CEO On The Shift To A Multi-Industrial Company Beyond Automotives

Once known for being a major automotive supplier, Johnson Controls Inc (NYSE: JCI) has now transformed itself into a multi-industrial company.

Alex Molinaroli, Johnson Controls CEO, was on CNBC Monday to talk about this transformation.

Transformation

"I am mostly worried about things that are in our control," Molinaroli said, "and we manage that."

He explained, "Our company has been through a lot in the last two years, mostly as we tried to transform our company from being primarily an automotive company to a multi-industrial [company].

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"A lot of strategic action is going on, but in the meantime, we have increased our profitability by 30 percent."

Building Efficiency Business

Molinaroli was asked what he meant by transforming the company and improving the building efficiency business. He replied, "What we have done in the last quarter, we have finalized some of the strategic actions that we have put in place to de-emphasize some of our automotives business and improve the building efficiency.

"If you look at our business and what cycle we are in, our building efficiency business is incredibly strong. It's a franchise business. We are in commercial buildings throughout North America, Europe and Asia – particularly strong in China."

He continued, "Our business both in China [and] in North America are franchise businesses, and as those markets begin to improve, we are in a great position to take advantage of that."

Will Always Be

On whether one should stop thinking of Johnson Control as a proxy for the automotive business, Molinaroli said, "I think we will always be in the automotive business, and we'll always be a great automotive supplier."

 
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