Globe Battery Division of Johnson Controls

Johnson Controls’ battery operations receive a new name

May 27, 1980 (PD: 201405)

On May 27, 1980, the Johnson Controls newsletter Briefing announced that “Globe Battery Division of Johnson Controls has been established as the approved communications signature for the company’s battery operations.”

The objective of the name change, the article went on to explain, was to maintain the strength of the Globe name in its markets and facilitate a smooth transference of that strength to Johnson Controls.

Johnson had merged with Globe-Union, Inc. on October 10, 1978, thus marking the company’s entry into the battery industry.  The merger constituted a major diversification of Johnson’s business, as Globe’s automobile replacement battery business was countercyclical to Johnson’s controls business in non-residential construction.

The name change for the company’s battery business also anticipated the change in Globe’s legal status.  Globe-Union was operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johnson Controls until September 30, 1980, after which the company officially became the Globe Battery Division of Johnson Controls.

Today, the company’s battery operations are known as the Power Solutions business unit.