From technology pioneer to successful global player

MANILA, Philippines - This year, the Bosch Group is celebrating its 125th anniversary, as well as the 150th anniversary of its founder’s birth. On Nov. 15, 1886, Bosch established his “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering” in Stuttgart, laying the foundations for what has since become a leading global supplier of technology and services. Born on Sept. 23, 1861, in Albeck near Ulm, Robert Bosch was a technology pioneer who propelled his company to international success during his own lifetime.

Robert Bosch was so successful because he realized how important it was to branch out from Stuttgart and set up business internationally. He quickly saw the benefits of marketing his products worldwide, establishing his first international sales office in the United Kingdom in 1898 and setting up a sales company for the French and Belgian markets in Paris in 1899. Over the next few years, the company established additional subsidiaries in the United States (1906), South Africa (1906), Australia and New Zealand (1907), China (1909), Brazil (1910), and Japan (1911).

In the decades that followed, Bosch produced numerous innovations in response to tremendous growth in the automotive sector and began to develop a worldwide development, manufacturing, and sales network. Local production in the key markets of Europe, the Americas, and Asia safeguards the company’s competitive position while providing a solid basis for long-term success.

Pioneering products and services meant that Bosch also acquired leading positions in other markets. In the wake of the 1926 crisis in the European car industry, the company began to expand beyond the automotive sector, branching out into other sectors at the end of the 1920s. The goal was to develop a broader business base to make the company less vulnerable to economic cycles – a tried-and-tested formula that Bosch still applies to the challenges it faces today.

Franz Fehrenbach, the chairman of the Bosch board of management, is pursuing a strategy of focused diversification which aims to make acquisitions that are consistent with the company’s core competencies. Over the past few years, Bosch has expanded its business to include systems that use renewable energy – a strategy that has paid dividends in times of crisis, most recently during the worldwide financial and economic crisis of 2008 and 2009.

Bosch first embarked on a course of diversification back in 1928, when it entered the market for portable electric power tools with its Forfex hair trimmer. The Forfex was followed by products such as the Bosch hammer drill in 1932 and a range of power tools in the 1950s. Today, Bosch is the leading supplier of power tools for DIY enthusiasts and professional users, offering a broad portfolio that includes cordless appliances based on lithium-ion technology. Over the years, the dictates of portfolio management have also made it necessary to abandon certain business sectors and product families.

Bosch has also successfully launched new products in the field of household appliances. The first Bosch refrigerator came onto the market in 1933, and the 1950s saw the introduction of Bosch food processors, washing machines, and dishwashers. In 2010, the zeolite® dishwasher and its new energy recovery system – developed through joint venture BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH - won the German “Innovationspreis für Klima und Umwelt” (Innovation Prize for Climate and Environment), which is awarded jointly by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment and the Federation of German Industries (BDI). The zeolite® dishwasher symbolizes the high product-development standards applied by the company in this area.

Tapping into future opportunities

International activities in pioneering fields of technology are set to maintain the Bosch Group’s competitive position in the years ahead. Megatrends such as climate change, renewable energies, demographic change, eco-friendly mobility, and increasing interconnection as a result of the internet are becoming increasingly important. To tackle the entrepreneurial and ecological challenges these megatrends present, Bosch will draw on its innovative strength and international market presence.

The company is placing a deliberate focus on the development of green technologies and is using the opportunities they present for sustainable growth in a number of fields, including vehicle electrification, heat pumps for building technology, and renewable energy from the sun and wind.

Credibility, efficiency, and reliability – the fundamental values of the company founder Robert Bosch – are still core elements of the corporate culture and the company’s business strategy.