Meet Johnson Controls, Inc.
The Johnson Service Company becomes Johnson Controls, Inc.
December 2, 1974 (PD: 201412)
The Johnson Controls logo 1974 to 2007
On December 2, 1974, the company name officially changed from the “Johnson Service Company” to “Johnson Controls, Inc.” The name change had been approved by company stockholders at the annual meeting the previous April by a nearly unanimous vote.
The reasons for the name change, explained by president and CEO Fred Brengel, were threefold:
- the name “Johnson Control” already appeared on many company products and in the names of several subsidiaries
- “Johnson Control” had been part of the company’s advertising literature for a number of years
- it was the name the company was known by in the trade.
During the announcement of the name change, the company also unveiled its new logo. And on the New York Stock Exchange, the now familiar “JCI” was traded on that day for the first time under the new listing.
This was not the first name change in the company’s history. When the company formed in 1885 it was called the Johnson Electric Service Co. In 1900, when the company was reorganized, the name was changed to the Johnson Electric Service Company (the abbreviation “Co.” was dropped in favor of the word “Company”). Two years later, in 1902, at company founder Warren Johnson’s suggestion, the company became the Johnson Service Company.
Today, of course, the company name remains Johnson Controls, Inc., although the company logo and slogan were changed in 2007.
