Johnson Controls

Johnson Controls Inc., the world's largest vehicle-seat maker, agreed to buy York International Corp. for $2.4 billion, expanding its building-related business and reducing its reliance on carmakers that are cutting production. York stockholders will get $56.50 a share in cash, Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls said in a statement yesterday. That's a premium of 35 percent to York's closing price of $41.75. Johnson Controls said it also will assume $800 million of York debt. Johnson Controls said it's adding about $5 billion in annual sales from York, the third-largest U.S. maker of heaters and air conditioners.

Baltimore City libraries, fire stations, City Hall and several other municipal buildings are scheduled for water- and energy-saving upgrades with $2.5 million in federal economic stimulus funds, the city's Department of General Services announced Wednesday. The funds, awarded by the Maryland Department of the Environment, are to be spent on replacing toilets and urinals, retrofitting sinks and showerheads with flow restrictors and installing more energy-efficient hot-water heaters, dishwashers and washing machines.

MILWAUKEE - Johnson Controls Inc., the second-largest maker of vehicle seats, agreed yesterday to buy No. 1 Japanese auto-seat maker Ikeda Bussan Co. for 19.8 billion yen ($185 million) in cash and assumed debt to boost sales in Asia. Johnson Controls will pay 120 yen a share for all of Ikeda Bussan, a unit of Nissan Motor Co., Japan's third-biggest carmaker, for 1.7 percent more than Ikeda's close Friday. The Milwaukee company will assume 9.1 billion yen in debt in a purchase it said will add "slightly" to fiscal 2001 profit.

Bridge projects close two roads The Engineering and Construction Division of the Harford County Department of Public Works has announced the temporary closure of two county roads for bridge projects. Neal Road will be closed between St. Paul's Church Road and Onion Road for bridge rehabilitation work. A detour has been set up until July 16, when the work is expected to be completed. Telegraph Road will be closed between Madonna Road and Eden Mill Road to replace the bridge at that location.

A Havre de Grace automobile seat manufacturing plant will close in July, putting 180 people out of work, the company said yesterday.The Douglas & Lomason Co. plant makes seats used in the Dodge Spirit and Plymouth Acclaim cars produced at the Chrysler Corp. plant in Newark, Del. As a result of declining sales of these cars, the Harford County plant laid off 86 workers on Friday.Jesse Weaver, manager of the Douglas & Lomason plant, said the company's contract with the Chrysler assembly plant expires in July.

In a last-ditch effort to save their government jobs, workers at Fort Meade are appealing the Army's decision to contract out two departments - more than 220 jobs - on the Odenton base. Last month, the Army announced that Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls Inc. had won the five-year contract to manage the Army's public works and logistics departments with its $33 million bid. The government workers can reapply for their positions with Johnson Controls, which is expected to take over the work next year.

About 220 civilian employees at Fort Meade learned yesterday they may be losing their jobs after Army officials announced a private company would be taking over two departments at the Odenton base. Johnson Controls Inc., a Milwaukee-based systems and facilities management company, will assume responsibility for jobs in the Army's public works and logistics departments under a 5-year contract worth $33 million. The positions, which include logistics, supply management and engineering jobs, will be eliminated by January.

In a last-ditch effort to save their government jobs, workers at Fort Meade are appealing the Army's decision to contract out two departments - more than 220 jobs - on the Odenton base. Last month, the Army announced that Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls Inc. had won the five-year contract to manage the Army's public works and logistics departments with its $33 million bid. The government workers can reapply for their positions with Johnson Controls, which is expected to take over the work next year.

An article Sept. 9 incorrectly reported the amount Baltimore is paying a private firm to run several cafeterias at city schools. The firm, Johnson Controls, will receive $70,000 under the contract.The Sun regrets the error.For many schoolchildren, the choices at the cafeteria lead to a daily dilemma: Will it be the casserole with the mystery meat or a bag of chips for lunch?At Baltimore's nine "Tesseract" schools, the food service is being turned over to a private firm that hopes to woo back dissatisfied students by allowing them to sample dishes and help revamp the menu.

When officials from Education Alternatives Inc. looked over the physical condition of Harlem Park Elementary and Middle schools in the summer, they saw a formidable task ahead.The two-school complex in West Baltimore, which occupies several blocks just off Harlem Avenue, was in need of major cleanup, particularly the middle school.Plumbing and toilets throughout that building were virtually "inoperable," according to Bob Parham, project manager for Johnson Controls World Services, the EAI corporate partner in charge of maintaining the schools.

Pointing to her "cleaner and greener" campaign, Mayor Sheila Dixon announced yesterday the launch of an environmental conservation summer job program for high school students. The program will pay 40 Baltimore public school students to work in city parks and learn about conservation. The program, called Baltimore's Conservation Leadership Corps, is a partnership between the city and Johnson Controls, a Milwaukee-based company specializing in automotive interiors and energy efficiency.

Baltimore has signed a $14 million contract with a Milwaukee-based company to generate electricity from the methane produced by the city's Back River sewage treatment plant - a project officials say they expect to save the city $1.4 million a year in energy costs while also improving air quality. The contract with Johnson Controls Inc., to be announced today, calls for construction of a "cogeneration" facility at the city-owned plant near Essex, which treats the sewage of 1.3 million city and Baltimore County residents.

Johnson Controls Inc., the world's largest vehicle-seat maker, agreed to buy York International Corp. for $2.4 billion, expanding its building-related business and reducing its reliance on carmakers that are cutting production. York stockholders will get $56.50 a share in cash, Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls said in a statement yesterday. That's a premium of 35 percent to York's closing price of $41.75. Johnson Controls said it also will assume $800 million of York debt. Johnson Controls said it's adding about $5 billion in annual sales from York, the third-largest U.S. maker of heaters and air conditioners.

Workers at Fort Meade lost a last-ditch effort yesterday to save more than 220 jobs, clearing the way for a private contractor to take over the positions by early next year. The Department of the Army announced that it had denied all three appeals to its decision in August that granted Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls Inc. a five-year, $33 million contract to manage Fort Meade's logistics and public works departments. The workers' appeals came from Local 1622 of the American Federation of Government Employees and a group of logistics employees, and the decisions in both of those cases are final.

In a last-ditch effort to save their government jobs, workers at Fort Meade are appealing the Army's decision to contract out two departments - more than 220 jobs - on the Odenton base. Last month, the Army announced that Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls Inc. had won the five-year contract to manage the Army's public works and logistics departments with its $33 million bid. The government workers can reapply for their positions with Johnson Controls, which is expected to take over the work next year.

Maryland's two U.S. senators and Fort Meade workers are raising questions about an Army decision to turn over the post's logistical and public works functions - at least 220 jobs - to a contractor that employs a former post commander. As the deadline for an appeal approaches, Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes is questioning whether the private-sector bidder, Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls Inc., was able to low-ball its offer to win the contract and will increase its costs now that the competition is over.

Pointing to her "cleaner and greener" campaign, Mayor Sheila Dixon announced yesterday the launch of an environmental conservation summer job program for high school students. The program will pay 40 Baltimore public school students to work in city parks and learn about conservation. The program, called Baltimore's Conservation Leadership Corps, is a partnership between the city and Johnson Controls, a Milwaukee-based company specializing in automotive interiors and energy efficiency.