Robert Bosch GmbH, or Bosch, is a German multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered
in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive
components measured by 2011 revenues. The company was founded by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart
in 1886. Bosch's core products are automotive components,
industrial products and building products. Bosch has more than 350 subsidiaries across
over 60 countries and its products are sold in around 150 countries. Bosch employs around
306,000 people and had revenues of approximately €52.5 billion in 2012. In 2012 it invested
around €4.8 billion in research and development and applied for around 4,800 patents worldwide.
In 2009 Bosch was the leader in terms of numbers of patents at the German Patent and Trade
Mark Office with 3,213 patents. However, Bosch continued to extend its international
footprint through company acquisitions and investments in new plants, and will continue
along with this path in 2013. For example, the Bosch Group is planning to set up a manufacturing
site for automotive windshield-wiper systems near Belgrade, Serbia. By 2019 some 70 million
euros will be invested. Construction work was set to begin in early 2012, with production
due to commence at the start of 2013. Initially, some 60 associates will work in manufacturing
operations with a floor area of around 22,000 square meters. By 2019 the number of associates
is set to rise to some 620. Its objectives are to achieve a better increase in sales
than in 2012 and to improve result significantly. Robert Bosch GmbH is privately owned, and
92% of its share capital is held by Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a charitable foundation.
The majority of voting rights are held by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG, an industrial
trust. The remaining shares are held by the Bosch family and by Robert Bosch GmbH. The
Bosch logo represents a simple magneto armature and casing, one of the company's first products.
History 19th century
1886 - Opening of Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering in Stuttgart on
15 November 1887 - First low-voltage magneto from Bosch
for stationary petrol engines 1897 - First low-voltage magneto ignition
for motor vehicle internal combustion engines 20th century
1901 - First plant in Stuttgart 1902 - First commercially viable high-voltage
spark plug 1906 - Production of 100,000th magneto ignition
1906 - Introduction of eight-hour working day
1910 - Opening of plant in Stuttgart-Feuerbach 1913 - Start of production of headlights
1918 - American assets seized; later become American Bosch Magneto
1926 - Start of production of windscreen wipers 1927 - First diesel fuel injection pump
1929 - First TV Set from Fernseh AG division 1932 - Formation of Junkers & Co.
1932 - First power drill from Bosch 1932 - First Blaupunkt car audio
1936 - First diesel fuel injection pump for passenger cars, such as the Mercedes-Benz
260D 1942 - Death of the company founder Robert
Bosch on 12 March 1962 - Worcester Bosch Group opens in England
1964 - Robert Bosch Foundation 1970 - Company headquarters moves to Gerlingen
1976 - First oxygen sensors 1982 - Company acquires photographic equipment
division from Braun AG 1986 - Traction control system on the market
1995 - Acquisition of Atco-Qualcast Ltd 1995 - First Electronic Stability Control
- Electronic Stability Program 1997 - Common rail diesel fuel injection patent
bought from Fiat. 21st century
2000 - DI-Motronic gasoline direct injection system
2000 - Acquisition of Rexroth 2002 - Brand Relaunched with new logo
2003 - Acquisition of Buderus AG 2003 - Digital car radio with MP3 drive and
digital recorder 2003 - The formation of the Robert Bosch Tool
Corporation and acquisition of S-B Power Tool Corporation and Vermont American Corporation
including the brand names for Bosch Power Tools, Skil Power Tools, Dremel, Vermont-American,
Primark brands, and Gilmours 2004 - Third-generation common rail diesel
injection for cars, with piezo injectors 2004 - Bosch opens new Technology Center in
Abstatt 2006 - Bosch acquires Telex Communications,
a maker of hearing aids, headsets and audio equipment, and partners with Daewoo to build
Bosch refrigerators in Mexico 2007 - The Bosch Communications Systems business
unit is created to manage the brands and products of former Telex Communications
2007 - Bosch acquires Health Hero Network 2008 - Tata Nano, the $2,500 People's Car
powered by Bosch-designed engine is unveiled at Auto Expo in New Delhi. Bosch plans to
acquire majority stake in Ersol photovoltaics. Bosch acquires CST/berger, maker of professional
measuring equipment. 2009 - Bosch acquires LR Nelson, a maker of
lawn and garden products, including ponds, and merges the Gilmour and Nelson brands into
Bosch - Garden and Watering. 2009 - Robert Bosch acquires Akustica
2012 - Purchased SPX Service Solutions 2012 - Shanti Auto Electricals, Budaun
2013 - Bosch announced, it will exit its solar business
Operations Bosch comprises more than 350 subsidiary companies.
In addition to automotive components, which generate around 60% of its revenues, Bosch
produces industrial machinery and hand tools. Locations
Although most of the company's plants and employees are located in Germany, Bosch is
a worldwide company. In North America, Robert Bosch LLC has corporate
headquarters in Farmington Hills, MI; with factories and distribution facilities in Mt.
Prospect, Illinois; Hoffman Estates, Illinois; Broadview, Illinois; Kentwood, Michigan; Waltham,
Massachusetts; Clarksville, Tennessee; Anderson, South Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina;
South Bend, Indiana; and 11 other cities. The Research Technology Center is located
in Palo Alto, California near Stanford University. There are also two corporate sites in Brazil
and ten in Mexico where a central purchasing office for all divisions of Bosch Group is
located in Broadview, Illinois. In North America, Bosch employs about 24,750 people in 80 locations,
generating $8.8 billion in sales in 2006. There are other wholly owned Bosch subsidiaries
in:
and other countries. Bosch employs over 281,717 people in more than 50 countries, supplying
a complex distribution network of new products and parts.
Activities Automotive components
About 60% of Bosch's worldwide annual sales are produced in automotive technology. Bosch
invented the first practical magneto, an early ignition electrical source, which provided
the spark to ignite the fuel in most of the earliest internal combustion engines. Bosch's
corporate logo to this date depicts the armature from a magneto. Bosch was an early manufacturer
of Anti-lock Braking System, and as time passed, Bosch became a leader in such specialized
fields as traction control systems, the Electronic Stability Program, body electronics, and oxygen
sensors, injectors and fuel pumps. Even in such humble technological areas as spark plugs,
wiper blades, engine cooling fans and other aftermarket parts, Bosch has over $1 billion
in annual sales. Bosch is a leading player in car stereo systems
and in-car navigation systems. Bosch is supplying hybrid diesel-electric
technology to automakers, including PSA Peugeot 3008.
Industrial technology Bosch's subsidiary Bosch Rexroth is a supplier
of industrial technology, producing hydraulic, electric, and pneumatic machinery for driving,
controlling, and moving machines in applications ranging from automotive to mining.
Bosch's packaging technology division plans, designs, manufactures and installs packaging
lines for manufacturers of pharmaceutical, confectionery, food, and similar products.
Bosch is one of the largest supplier of packaging technology.
Consumer goods and power tools
Bosch caters to the areas of consumer goods and building technology with its power tool,
thermotechnology, and security systems, as well as with its household appliances business
within the BSH Bosch and Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH joint venture. In the US, power tools
are provided by the Robert Bosch Tool Corporation based in Mt. Prospect, Illinois.
With its brands Bosch, Hawera, Skil, Dremel, RotoZip, Freud, Vermont American, and many
more, Bosch is one of the largest manufacturer of portable power tools worldwide. Bosch manufactures
power tools for the building trade, industry, and do-it-yourselfers. In or around 1956,
Dr. Hans Erich Slany worked with Bosch to design one of the first plastic power tools.
Prior to this time, power tools were metal castings that often conducted electrical sparks
or current into the user as well as being very heavy. Today the power tools designed
by TEAMS Design have been winning awards worldwide for many years. In 2011, the 12" Dual-Bevel
Glide Miter Saw won an EID Silver Award. In 2012, the Dremel Saw Max was awarded a Good
Design Award and was chosen as an IDEA Award finalist. The product range also includes
accessories such as drill bits and saw blades, under its Vermont American brand, as well
as gardening and water gardening products under its Gilmour, LR Nelson, and Sunterra
brands. Bosch is the largest European manufacturer
of thermotechnology with its subsidiary BBT Thermotechnik GmbH. It had revenues of €2.8 billion
in 2006. Its brands include Bosch, Buderus, Junkers, Dakon, e.l.m leblanc S.A., Florida
Heat Pump, Geminox, IVT, Nefit, Sieger, Vulcano and Worcester.
Security systems In 2001, Bosch bought Detection Systems and
Radionics, Inc., to build their business in the North American security and life safety
products manufacturing/supply business. Through the Detection Systems acquisition, Bosch also
obtained additional sales channels in Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.
In 2002, Bosch acquired Philips Communications and Security, Inc., adding a video surveillance
portfolio, as well as sales channels, to its business.
In 2008, Bosch acquired Extreme CCTV, a rugged camera and IP camera manufacturer, to further
expand their video surveillance portfolio. Mobile phones
Bosch also used to create mobile phones for a short time. Their first three mobile phones
were the Com 906, Com 738 and World 718, all from 1996. In 1997, they released two other
phones: Com 207 and Com 607. The Com 908 came out in 1998, and in 1999 they released their
final phones: the Com 509, the 909 Dual and the 909 Dual S.
Joint ventures BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte
BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH, in which Bosch and Siemens AG each hold a 50%
share, is one of the world's top three companies in the household appliances industry. In Germany
and Western Europe, BSH is the market leader. Its portfolio includes the principal brand
names Bosch and Siemens, Gaggenau, Neff, Thermador, Constructa, Viva, and ufesa brands, and further
six regional brands. Bosch household appliances for the North American market are mainly manufactured
at its factory near New Bern, North Carolina. The distribution of manufacturing workforce
in household appliances is: 36% in Germany
30% in Western Europe 15% in Asia
10% in Eastern Europe 5% in North America
4% in Latin America with 39,000 employees overall.
Purolator Filters Bosch owned 50% of Purolator Filters in a
joint venture with Mann+Hummel until 2013. In 2013 the Mann+Hummel Group has takenover
the remaining 50% stakes from Bosch. Bosch owns 50% of the home appliance manufacturer
Bosch-Siemens Hausgeräte. The vehicle audio equipment company Blaupunkt was a subsidiary
of Bosch until March 2009. SB LiMotive
In June 2008 Bosch formed SB LiMotive, a 50:50 joint company with Samsung SDI. The company
held ground breaking ceremony for a 28.000 m2 lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing plant
in September 2009 and it is scheduled to start production for hybrid vehicles in 2011 and
for electric vehicles in 2012 The plant will generate a 1.000 jobs in Ulsan, Korea in addition
to the 500 employees in Korea, Germany and the USA. SB LiMotive was officially ended
in September 2012 with both companies focusing on automotive batteries alone.
Corporate affairs Robert Bosch GmbH, including its wholly owned
subsidiaries such as Robert Bosch LLC in North America, is unusual in that it is an extremely
large, privately owned corporation that is almost entirely owned by a charitable foundation.
Thus, while most of the profits are invested back into the corporation to build for the
future and sustain growth, nearly all of the profits distributed to shareholders are devoted
to humanitarian causes.
As shown in the diagram, the Robert Bosch Stiftung holds 92% of the shares of Robert
Bosch GmbH, but no voting rights. The Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG, with old members
of the company management, agents of the Bosch family, and other eminent people from the
industry, have 93% of the votes, but no shares. The remaining 8% of shares and 7% of voting-rights
are held by the descendants of the company founder Robert Bosch.
For example, in 2004, the net profit was US$2.1 billion, but only US$78 million was distributed as
dividends to shareholders. Of that figure, US$72 million was distributed to the charitable
foundation, and the other US$6 million to Bosch family stockholders. The remaining 96%
of the profits were invested back into the company. In its core automotive technology
business, Bosch invests 9% of its revenue on research and development, nearly double
the industry average of 4.7%. Accreditations
Almost all Bosch locations are both ISO 9001 certified and ISO 14001 certified. In addition
to that, their management is compliant with OHSAS 18001.
See also
Knorr-Bremse References
External links Robert Bosch GmbH official website
Profile at Yahoo! Finance: Bosch-YF-profile