LAS VEGAS, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) recognized Johnson Controls Inc. with its prestigious “Corporation of the Year” Award on October 29, at an Awards Banquet capping its annual conference. The award recognizes the company’s exemplary achievements in the area of minority business development.

NMSDC’s Corporation of the Year award is regarded as the most significant honor to a major corporation for the utilization of Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American suppliers. In winning the award, Johnson Controls demonstrated exceptional strength in areas critical to maintaining a solid minority supplier development process.

Johnson Controls spent $1.29 billion with nearly 300 NMSDC-certified minority businesses in 2007, a major increase over its 2006 spend of $880 million. The 2007 MBE spend supported more than 11,000 jobs at 276 minority-owned firms, generating more than $251 million in wages and salaries. The 276 first-tier suppliers represents a 97 percent increase over the 140 first-tier suppliers Johnson Controls did business with in 2006. Additionally, Johnson Controls was fully engaged in supplier development activities for minority firms through the NMSDC Centers of Excellence, a capacity-building initiative featuring a network of local corporations and minority firms working together to enhance the minority supplier development process by implementing NMSDC best practices.

“Johnson Controls has one of the best minority supplier development processes in corporate America,” said NMSDC President Harriet R. Michel. “Its consistent commitment to minority business development is without peer.”

In 2007, 79 minority businesses participated in capacity-building activities with Johnson Controls. The company provided scholarships for 10 MBE chief executive officers to attend education programs, including NMSDC’s Advanced Management Education Program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Johnson Controls recognized six NMSDC-certified MBEs with supplier performance awards in 2007.

NMSDC also presented awards for individual leadership in minority supplier development, Suppliers of the Year and Regional Council of the Year. Reginald K. Layton, director of diversity business development at Johnson Controls, received the Minority Supplier Development Leader of the Year award in recognition of innovative supplier development activities and leadership across industry groups and around the country.

Four top minority businesses were recognized as national Suppliers of the Year for excellence in business acumen and community service. They are: Anahau Energy, a natural gas supply services firm in El Segundo, California, in the category for businesses with sales less than $1 million; B. Bell Builders LP, of Sugar Land, Texas, among firms with $1 million to $10 million in sales; Carol’s Daughter, a Brooklyn, New York-based manufacturer, retailer and wholesaler of fragrances for the home as well as beauty and grooming products for women and men for businesses with sales between $10 and $50 million; and The Bartech Group, Inc., a professional staffing services and vendor management firm in Livonia, Michigan, for firms with sales greater than $50 million.

Twelve minority businesses were honored as regional “Suppliers of the Year.” They are All American Pressure Cleaning and Painting, Inc., Pembroke Pines, Florida; Apex Computer Systems, Inc., Cerritos, California; Configuration Chicago, Inc., Chicago, Illinois; KLN Logistics Corporation (dba AIT Worldwide Logistics), Middleburg Heights, Ohio; MENTOR Technical Group, Caguas, Puerto Rico; Moody-Nolan, Inc., Columbus, Ohio; Picture That, LLC, Stamford, Connecticut; Raven Transport Company, Inc., Jacksonville, Florida; Syntellus Dataworks, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia; Thompson Hospitality Services, LLC, Herndon, Virginia; Torix General Contractors, LLC, Colorado Springs, Colorado; and WebRunners, Inc. dba W3R Consulting, Southfield, Michigan.

The New York and New Jersey Minority Supplier Development Council earned Council of the Year honors for providing stellar services to hundreds of corporations and minority businesses in New York and New Jersey.

Jethro Joseph, senior executive, diversity supplier development at Chrysler, and Maureen Merkle, formerly president, procurement at AT&T, received Special Appreciation Awards for their long-standing accomplishments in minority supplier development and volunteer leadership with NMSDC.

About NMSDC

Providing a direct link between corporate America and minority-owned businesses is the primary objective of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, one of the country’s leading business membership organizations. It was chartered in 1972 to provide increased procurement and business opportunities for minority businesses of all sizes. In 2007, NMSDC corporate members reported $104.7 billion spent with Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American businesses.

The NMSDC Network includes a national office in New York and 39 Regional Councils across the country. There are 3,500 corporate members throughout the network, including America’s top publicly-owned, privately-owned and foreign-owned companies as well as universities, hospitals and other buying institutions. The Regional Councils certify and match more than 15,000 minority-owned businesses with member corporations that want to purchase their goods and services.

For more information about NMSDC, call (212) 944-2430 or visit the Web site at www.nmsdc.org.

SOURCE National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC)