June 1, 1910: Despite optimism, auto business sold after founder's death

At a special meeting of the Johnson Service Company's (Johnson Controls' former name) Board of Directors on June 1, 1910, President Warren S. Johnson reported that the prospects for the Company's automobile business were "very bright."  Johnson went on to discuss with the Board possible sites for a new automobile factory in and around the Milwaukee area.  They eventually decided to rent a one-story, 60' by 120' garage on Wisconsin Street for $1,500 per year.  

Johnson Service Company had been manufacturing automobiles and trucks of varying types since 1901, and while Company founder Johnson felt passionately about the burgeoning automotive industry, Board members' enthusiasm didn't match his own.

After Johnson passed away on December 5, 1911, the Company's directors sold off the automobile business to the White Truck Company of Cleveland the following year.