Johnson Controls Supplies the Complete Seats for the New Ford B-Max

Since the Ford B-MAX comes without B-pillars, making it easier to enter and exit the vehicle, a special solution was required to mount the seatbelts. Johnson Controls developed front seats for the minivan with integrated seatbelt mountings, without compromising safety. Until now, such seats, referred to as integrated belt seats, were found primarily in sporty coupes and convertibles.

The minivan’s passenger seat offers an additional unique feature: it can be folded over flat, like the split rear seat bench. This creates additional cargo space and makes it easier to load long items.

Johnson Controls supplies the seats in either fabric or part leather with a bicolor design. In addition, customers can select a premium all-leather version.

Johnson Controls also developed and produces the metal structures for the front and rear seats. The seat tracks from the company’s CRH brand offer a feature unique in the minivan segment: a permanent engagement latch. This allows the front seats to be locked into place after they are adjusted with at least one locking element per track.

In January 2012, the company opened a seat plant specifically to supply the nearby Ford plant where the B-MAX is produced via a just-in-time process in Craiova, Romania.

Johnson Controls manufactures the minivan’s seat components in Romania, too: the metal components are made in the former C. Rob. Hammerstein plant in Jimbolia; the foam components for the seat pads are made in the former Spumotim factory in Timisoara; and the seat covers are made in Pitesti.

With the integration of metal specialist C. Rob. Hammerstein and the automotive division of foam specialist Spumotim, Johnson Controls offers key seating components in Romania from a single source.