You are on page 1of 3

Johnson Controls to air-condition the Holy Mosque in Mecca - JSOnline Page 1 of 3

Home » Business
Business

Johnson Controls to air-condition the Holy


Mosque in Mecca

Associated Press

Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls says its new contract for the Holy Mosque in Mecca, Saudi
Arabia, is the world’s biggest air-conditioning project.

Company says deal for 1.2-million-square-foot site is world's


largest air-conditioning project.
By Thomas Content of the Journal Sentinel

Nov. 8, 2010 |(24) Comments

Johnson Controls Inc. has won a contract for what it says is the biggest air-conditioning project in the
world: cooling the Holy Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Built in the seventh century, the Holy Mosque surrounds the sacred site toward which Muslims turn and

http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Johnson+Controls+to+air-c... 11/10/2010
Johnson Controls to air-condition the Holy Mosque in Mecca - JSOnline Page 2 of 3

pray each day, and it is a pilgrimage destination that can host more than a million worshippers during
the holy month of Ramadan.

The mosque has been modified, rebuilt and expanded often throughout its history. The Johnson Controls
contract is part of an ongoing major expansion that began in 1982.

"The signing of this contract&ensp.&ensp.&ensp.&enspis the culmination of a long journey to win this
unique and prestigious order - and also one of the largest single HVAC equipment orders in the history
of Johnson Controls," said Stephen Roell, chairman and chief executive of Johnson Controls, who was
in Saudi Arabia for the contract signing. "We are particularly pleased that these products, which are
specifically tailored to meet the expansion requirements of the Holy Mosque, will contribute to a more
efficient and sustainable environment that supports the comfort of the millions of people who visit this
site annually."

The project was announced Monday, after a contract signing in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday.

It is a major contract for the Milwaukee-based building efficiency business of Johnson Controls, which
bought heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment supplier York International several years
ago. The project is being carried out by Al Salem Johnson Controls, a joint venture with a subsidiary of
the Saudi Binladin Group. The companies have been working together since 1993, and have
collaborated on other major projects at Saudi universities, airports and another mosque known as the
Prophet's Mosque.

The Holy Mosque contract includes the purchase of 27 York "multistage centrifugal chillers," which
have variable-speed drives to boost energy efficiency, as well as a building-management system,
Johnson Controls said.

The mosque complex has nearly 1.2 million square feet.

Financial terms weren't disclosed, but a company executive said during a recent investor presentation it
represents $35 million in revenues. During the presentation, Dave Myers, president of the building
efficiency business, told Wall Street analysts the project is the payoff the company expects from growth
in emerging markets, including the Middle East.

"Overall that business remains pretty healthy for us, and we see that as a key growth area," Myers said,
highlighting infrastructure investments taking place in Turkey, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi
Arabia.

The company aims for expansion in the Middle East through broadening its sales mix, from York
equipment to a range of energy-efficiency and building-management systems, including security
systems.

The project is an example of the strength of the "scale that we can deliver to customers in that region,"
Myers said. This project in particular will yield "around $35 million in total revenue associated with this,
with an expectation that expands to double that size within the next three years," he said.

The building efficiency business had about $12.8 billion in global sales last year, of which $500 million
came from the Middle East. In announcing a forecast of sales and profit growth during the fiscal year
that just began last month, the company said its building efficiency growth would be powered by
expansions in China and the Middle East.

http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Johnson+Controls+to+air-c... 11/10/2010
Johnson Controls to air-condition the Holy Mosque in Mecca - JSOnline Page 3 of 3

The company's outlook for a record year has prompted Johnson Controls' stock price to hit 52-week
highs in recent days. The shares closed Monday at $37.34, up 54 cents.David Leiker, an analyst with
Robert W. Baird & Co. in Milwaukee, said the company's global focus on energy-efficient technologies
will help its expansion in China, the Middle East and Latin America.

"Over the next six years, non-residential construction in these markets is expected to grow
approximately 40-90 percent (relative to 2008 levels), with non-residential construction in Western
Europe and North America expected to grow only approximately 10 percent over that same time period
(also relative to 2008 levels)," he wrote in a recent research note.

Find this article at:


http://www.jsonline.com/business/106936238.html

Check the box to include the list of links referenced in the article.

http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Johnson+Controls+to+air-c... 11/10/2010

You might also like