Johnson Controls Is Named Manufacturing, Wholesale & Distribution Award Honoree

Steve Tice and Chet Sears accept the Manufacturing, Wholesale & Distribution award on behalf of Johnson Controls.

The Johnson Controls Unitary Products Group Wichita, Kan., facility has been named a Manufacturing, Wholesale & Distribution award honoree by the Wichita Business Journal.

In its third year, the award is designed to raise the visibility and stature of manufacturing, wholesale and distribution companies as economic drivers in South Central Kansas. Honorees were chosen in eight categories, including Corporate Leadership, Job Growth, Research and Development, Emerging Leaders, Community Involvement, Export, Green Initiatives and Collaboration. Johnson Controls was honored in the Research and Development category.

“We’re excited to be recognized as a force in the Wichita community,” states Liz Haggerty, vice president and general manager, unitary products group, Johnson Controls. “We take our commitment to our customers, our employees and the community around us seriously, so it’s especially nice to know our efforts have not gone unnoticed by those who work side-by-side with us.”

Johnson Controls’ Wichita facility employs more than 1,300 people who design, engineer and assemble residential heating and cooling products in the U.S. The plant includes the Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT) facility, which allows for simultaneous testing of up to 24 outdoor systems, simulating a five-year life in four months under a variety of real-life temperature, weather and live voltage conditions.

Chet Sears, director of Quality Processes and Services, unitary products group, Johnson Controls and Steve Tice, vice president of engineering, unitary products group, Johnson Controls accepted the award on behalf of Johnson Controls at a luncheon for honorees at the Hyatt Regency Wichita. Honorees will be featured in a special publication that profiles the award honorees under each category.

“This honor is a testament to the quality manufacturing processes we have in place here at the Wichita plant,” says Sears. “It also recognizes the more than 250,000 hours of design and testing invested in our products.”

Sponsors of the Manufacturing, Wholesale & Distribution award include Allen, Gibbs & Houlik, Kruse Corporation, Wichita Area Technical College and the Leadfoot and Kansas Chamber of Commerce.

To learn more about Johnson Controls Unitary Products Group, please visit www.YORK.com.