On 1 November 2011, Rainer Schmückle will become the new chief operating officer and president of Johnson Controls’ (JCI, Milwaukee, Wisconsin / USA; www.johnsoncontrols.com) Seating Components business unit. Schmückle will report to Beda Bolzenius, vice president at JCI and president of the Automotive Experience division, of which Seating Components is a part.

Schmückle will not only lead the automotive supplier’s quality, engineering, purchasing and operations organisations as well as the entire seating components unit, he has also been tasked with accelerating the global standardisation of engineering and manufacturing processes as well as JCI’s positioning as a leading automotive supplier.