Bruno Nicolas, vice president and general manager Building Efficiency of Johnson Controls, welcomed his guests to a customer event themed ‘Maximize profits through operational improvement’ which officially launched the Customer and Learning Center in Aarhus, Denmark.

Besides sharing a few highlights on the multi-industrial activities of Johnson Controls, Mr Nicolas explained the latest strategy developments for Building Efficiency such as the global air conditioning joint venture with Hitachi that will sustain the growth of Building Efficiency activities within Johnson Controls in the coming years.

Mr Nicolas took the opportunity to share a vision: making facilities smarter and more efficient today takes innovation and leadership. This means talking and interacting constantly with customers about their changing needs and requirements. 'Our added value is the contribution to lower the pressure on costs, to increase reliability, productivity, efficiency and safety, while providing a sustainable solution. The product is the mean, not the end. We complete our know-how with know-why from our customers to provide added value all along the lifecycle.'

One of the ways to achieve this is through customer and learning centres that showcase the latest innovations in building energy and operational efficiency technology and service. They provide customers with a chance to learn and interact with the newest innovations and they give Johnson Controls an opportunity to get valuable feedback. A winning combination that leads to knowledge sharing and ultimately even more technology advancement.

Jacob Bundsgaard, Mayor of Aarhus, joined Mr Nicolas to demonstrate his city's support to the Customer and Learning Center. 'It is precisely these kind of initiatives that will lead to a CO2 neutral future. We need to make sure companies likes Johnson Controls are set as examples,' he said. He also underlined the importance of knowledge sharing to reach those ambitions.