Joyson Safety Systems, formerly known as Key Safety Systems is an American company that develops and manufactures automotive safety systems. The company is a result of KSS purchasing troubled Japanese airbag company Takata Corporation. It is owned jointly by Joyson group and PAG capital. The company headquarters is in Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States. Globally, the company has 50,000 employees who work in 32 plants and technical centers worldwide. The current JSS Executive Director and President is Guido Durrer. JSS is owned by Ningbo Joyson Electronic, described as a "Chinese automotive conglomerate" that acquired Key Safety Systems in 2016 for $920 million. The combined sales of both companies are more than $3 billion. Ningbo Joyson Electronic competed against other large companies in the industry including Autoliv to acquire KSS.
History
Origins as Breed Automotive Corporation
JSS was initially founded as Breed Corporation in 1961 by Allen K. Breed as a defense-oriented producer of ammunition components, including mortar fuses. In 1968 Breed Corporation, using their fuse technology developed an electromechanical airbag sensor. The sensor was not widely used until mid-1980s when the United States government had a federal mandate for passive restraint systems. Following Breed Corporation's success in developing the first automotive crash sensor in 1984, the airbag sensor part of the corporation was spun off as its own corporation in 1986 as Breed Automotive Corporation. In 1991, the United States Congress decreed that all new cars must be equipped with airbags by 1997. In the same year, BAC changed its name to Breed Technologies, Inc and went public on the New York Stock Exchange in November 1992. In 1997, Allen Breed retired as CEO, but continued to serve the company as Chairman Emeritus until his death in December 1999. Breed's wife, Johnnie Breed, would take over as CEO. Between the years of 1994 and 1998, BTI had spent $1.1 billion to acquire 11 different companies attempting to expand BTI's influence in the automotive component market. Once such acquisition in 1997, was the company called AlliedSignal. AlliedSignal established a major presence in the automotive safety restraint market through its Safety Restraints operations. The firm was the only supplier of automotive seatbelts and airbags at the time that had complete vertical operations, from fiber extrusion through finished product. SRS Plant in Knoxville performing all fabric weaving and finishing operations for airbag and seatbelt fabrics while SRS plants in Maryville and Greenville performed the cutting, sewing and final assembly of components. Which were then delivered to customers such as General Motors, Suzuki and Chrysler Corp. among others. In September 1999, BTI filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a result of the massive debt it took on to acquire those companies, and the fiscal losses it faced in 1998.
Renamed to Key Safety Systems
In April 2003, BTI was bought by Carlyle Management Group for between $300 and $315 million. CMG moved BTI's headquarters from Lakeland, Florida to Sterling Heights, Michigan. In September 2003, CMG announced that BTI would be renamed to Key Safety Systems. The name change was to show KSS's unification with CMG's other affiliates under the Key Automotive Group brand. KSS continued to operate under Key Automotive Group until it was acquired by the Chinese-based company, Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corporation in early 2016, for $920 million. The companies’ combined sales worldwide were equal to $3 billion at the time of the purchase.
Takata acquisition
In June 2017 Takata Corporation, an airbag manufacturer, filed for bankruptcy in the United States and Japan due to lawsuits and large product recalls for unsafe airbags which the company sold to major automotive manufacturers. KSS acquired the remaining Takata assets for about $1.6 billion.
Renamed to Joyson Safety Systems
Following the antitrust clearance and bankruptcy court approvals in various countries, on April 11, 2018, KSS announced the completion of its acquisition of Takata, and changed its name to Joyson Safety Systems.
