BURSCHEID, GERMANY (Oct. 22, 1:15 p.m. ET) — Johnson Controls has received an award for its ComfortThin seat, which replaces urethane foam pads with coil springs.
The automotive seating company received the accolade at the ÖkoGlobe awards, held Oct. 17 in Cologne, Germany. The jury chose this year’s winners of the international environmental award for the mobility industry from more than 110 applications, a greater number than ever before, JC said.
“ComfortThin convinced the jury, since Johnson Controls successfully transferred lightweight and recyclable materials from other industries to an automotive product. Also, this seat creates additional weight saving potential through shorter bodywork, thus reducing fuel consumption,” commented Ferdinand Dudenh"ffer, spokesperson for the ÖkoGlobe jury.
As part of a design partnership with British luxury mattress manufacturer Harrison Spinks, Johnson Controls has developed an automotive seat with a thin profile, which replaces conventional urethane foam pads with pocketed coil springs from the bedding industry.
The new technology will be available for 2015 models. Testing of the seat in modified production cars has been positive and has piqued the interest of automakers, Johnson Controls said.
