Johnson Controls, a diversified technology and industrial products company known for its range of automotive interior systems and electronic components, has opened a new manufacturing plant in Queretaro, Mexico. The plant will produce molded polyurethane foam for automotive seats.

Construction of the new 100,000 sq-ft facility began in March 2013 and was completed in October 2013. Production began in mid-February. "Johnson Controls is strongly committed to producing world-class automotive seating systems and is proud to bring this new facility to Queretaro," said Brian Cooke, vice president and general manager for Johnson Controls' foam product group. "We are pleased to become a part of and support the Queretaro community."

The new plant will supply seating foam to major automakers. Currently the facility has one foam line and employs approximately 150 people, said a JCI release.

JCI is known for the lightweighting of its seating systems using various polymer technologies, which PlasticsToday has written about in the past. JCI is considered a global leader in automotive seating, overhead systems, door and instrument panels, supporting all major automakers in the differentiation of their vehicles through its products, technologies and advanced manufacturing capabilities, said JCI.

JCI has recently been divesting of some of its business units. The company announced that it has agreed to sell its automotive electronics business to Visteon Corp for $265 million. According to terms of the agreement, Visteon will acquire JCI's instrument cluster, infotainment, display and body electronics products.

The company sold the HomeLink product portion of its electronics portfolio to Gentex Corp. in September, and that deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014.