Founder of the company. Where are Bosch washing machines assembled? The appearance of Bosch products in Russia

Material from the Encyclopedia of the magazine "Behind the Wheel"

Robert Bosch
Robert Bosch
1861 - 1942 Germany

(23.09.1861 – 12.03.1942)
Mechanic, inventor and entrepreneur. Born in Ahlbeck near Ulm. He was the eleventh of twelve children in the family. Parents were engaged in agriculture and kept a guest house on the road between Nuremberg and Ulm.
From the autumn of 1869 until the end of September 1876 he studied at the Ulm Real School. From October 1, 1881 to October 1, 1882, he performed voluntary military service in Ulm in the 13th engineer battalion. From the autumn of 1882 to the summer of 1883 he worked in the company of Sigmund Schukkert in Nuremberg, which manufactured voltmeters and ammeters. In 1883 - 1884, as a free listener, he attended lectures at the Technical Institute in Stuttgart.
In 1884 he left for North America, where he found work at Edison Machine Works. In the spring of 1885 he moved to England and got a job at Siemens Brothers. From January 1886 he worked for Buss, Sombart & Co in Magdeburg.
After the death of his father, having received his share of the inheritance, on November 15, 1886, he opened his own company in the city of Stuttgart, which produced and repaired electrical appliances. It was called “Workshops of Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering”.
In 1887, Bosch began producing the low-voltage magnetos he had improved. In ignition systems with a low voltage magneto, a spark in the engine cylinders occurred when the contacts located inside the combustion chamber opened. Robert Bosch magneto ignition was used in stationary low-speed internal combustion engines. In 1897, Robert Bosch installed a low voltage magneto on the De Dion Bouton tricycle engine. Experience has shown that to operate on a high-speed engine, the magneto design must be changed. The problem was successfully solved, and the company received a patent for the new design.
The ignition system with a low voltage magneto had a drawback - the contact opening mechanism in the combustion chamber was unique for each engine model. The next step was the invention of the high-voltage magneto in 1902. In the new system, a spark jumped between the contacts of a spark plug connected to the magneto by a high-voltage wire. The ignition system with a high-voltage magneto was easily mounted on any engine, which contributed to its mass distribution. In 1909, the company got its own advertising hero - “Mephistopheles”. This character was drawn by artist Julius Klinger commissioned by Robert Bosch. The prototype for “Mephistopheles” was the Belgian racer Camille Zhenatzi, nicknamed “The Red Devil”.
In the period before the First World War, Robert Bosch worked purposefully to expand his company's international network. Behind his actions was a clear understanding that the sale of BOSCH's only promising product - ignition systems - was entirely dependent on the automotive industry. The Americans dominated the automobile market and were the first to master mass production methods. Therefore, in 1913, about 88% of BOSCH's products were sold outside Germany, and more than 50% of the company's assets were in foreign offices and factories in France and the United States.
Receiving solid profits, Bosch was able to provide his workers with favorable working conditions. Thus, in 1906, an eight-hour working day was introduced, and since 1910, the Saturday working day was reduced by half and a system of paid holidays was introduced.

In 1913, the company began producing the Bosch–Licht automotive lighting system, which consisted of headlights, a generator, a relay controller and a battery. Since 1921, the Bosch–Licht system has been adapted for motorcycles. The production of our own batteries was mastered in 1922, and before that time they were purchased from suppliers.
Later, the product range was supplemented by an electric horn (1921), a windshield wiper (1926), and a mechanical turn signal (1928).
Electric starters have been produced in the United States since 1910. According to Robert Bosch, the most promising design was the freewheel starter produced by Rushmore. Soon the company was bought by a German concern along with all patents and trade rights, and since then similar starters have been sold under the BOSCH brand. In 1914, it was decided to begin their production at a new factory in Plainfield, New Jersey.
The First World War had catastrophic consequences for Germany. All foreign representative offices of the Robert Bosch company, as well as factories in France and the United States, came under external control as enemy property and were ultimately confiscated. But an excellent reputation and high quality products turned out to be the most important asset, and by the mid-20s of the last century, the company's international network turned out to be wider than before the war.
At the beginning of the 20s, it became clear that the diesel engine had certain advantages and was quite promising. Robert Bosch saw the spread of diesel engines as a threat to the future of his company, since the diesel engine did not require a magneto ignition system. The solution to the situation was to develop equipment for a diesel engine. Since 1921, the Robert Bosch company has been developing a fuel pump for a diesel engine. Along with its own experience, the company actively used the knowledge of other leading developers of diesel equipment. In 1924, fuel pumps were tested on the first German diesel trucks, and by the end of 1927 the BOSCH fuel pump was ready for serial production.
In 1926, the automobile industry experienced its first large-scale sales crisis. Robert Bosch, who had recently retired from day-to-day management of the company, recommended that his successors carry out a restructuring that would transform the specialized company for the production of automotive components into a transnational electrical concern. The company was able to successfully implement the recommendations of the founder of the company both thanks to its own developments in the field of power tools and household appliances, and through the targeted acquisition of other companies - the company producing gas water heaters Junkers, the company producing radio equipment Ideal-Werke (later - Blaupunkt) and a manufacturing company Bauer film projectors.
During the heyday of his business, Bosch devoted much attention to charitable activities and actively advocated peace and cooperation in Europe. Since the National Socialists came to power, he has repeatedly helped people persecuted for political reasons. His name is immortalized in the Automotive Hall of Fame in Detroit.
Sources:
1 Encyclopedia of auto celebrities. Designers. Designers. Entrepreneurs. Publishing house "Za Rulem".
2. BOSCH History Bulletin. Robert Bosch. Life and activity.
3. BOSCH History Bulletin BOSCH technology for cars. Brief history of development.

There are many brands in the world that have been operating for centuries, while maintaining the quality of their products at the highest level. One of these global manufacturers is Robert Bosch GmbH. This company will be discussed in this article.

Specialization

Bosch (manufacturing country - Germany) is a German group of large companies, which is considered one of the providers of services and technologies in the automotive, industrial technology, and construction industries. The concern is based near the city of Stuttgart, in a town called Gerlingen.

History of creation and founding father

The Bosch company was created by an outstanding German engineer and entrepreneur named Robert Bosch. The official founding date of the company is November 15, 1886.

Robert is not just the founder of a world-famous enterprise, but also one of the pioneers of the global industrial breakthrough. It was the exactingness, pedantry, discipline and perseverance of the German that led to the fact that the company successfully exists to this day. As a motto, Bosch chose a phrase now widely known in commercial circles: “It’s not scary to lose money, it’s much worse to lose trust.”

At the initial stage of its development, the concern was located in rather small workshops, where literally a few people worked, but already at the beginning of the First World War, Robert had a solid annual income of about four million marks.

Manager's policy

The German leader himself always believed that success is not only the steady development of the economy, but also a stable increase in the quality of life and improved working conditions. Bosch tried to develop as much as possible those business principles that remain relevant to this day. For example, back in 1906, he independently decided to introduce an eight-hour working day for all his subordinates. He also advocated for free trade and the presence of industrial arbitration. In addition, Robert, throughout his long life, firmly believed that any business is primarily based on the extremely close trust of all partners in each other and the ideal quality of the products.

Important dates in the formation of the company

Over its long history, Robert Bosch GmbH has created many interesting things that have long been very firmly established in our everyday life. Let's get to know them better.

1933 The Leipzig Spring Fair was a real breakthrough in the field of refrigeration. The company's designers decided that the round shape could not be a hindrance to the refrigerator, and released an eighty-kilogram unit. Also, the first traffic light on the planet was installed in Copenhagen.

1949 Round shapes are still in fashion, and pot-bellied refrigerators are now being mass-produced by the company.

1950 At this time, cards are canceled, since food shortages are a thing of the past, and the Bosch brand launched the production of a kitchen mixer.

1956 The company produces its millionth refrigerator. At that time, no other company in the world could boast of such an indicator.

1958 Once again Bosch is at the top of its business achievements. The concern's manufacturing country became the first in history where a full-fledged washing machine rolled off the assembly line.

1962 The company became the undisputed leader in the production of household appliances because it was the first to produce a built-in kitchen stove. This Bosch stove is a real decoration for absolutely any kitchen, since it combines quality, reliability, ergonomics and compactness.

1964 Dishwashers from a German company are beginning to gain popularity among consumers.

1972 The Bosch stove is already a thing of the past. A washing machine that operates in automatic mode and has a program for the now popular full cycle has come to the fore.

1978 The company managed to fill its equipment with various tricks and special options, thanks to which the multifunctional food processor was born.

1984 Bosch (the country of origin of the company has remained unchanged to this day) was the first in the world to begin producing a small-sized microwave combination oven with grilling and baking functions.

1987 The company has successfully mastered the production of automatic washing machines, so beloved by all housewives of the world today, capable of working together with devices that provide economical consumption of washing powders.

Activities in the automotive sector

A review of Bosch would be incomplete without a detailed look at the company's activities in the production of automotive parts and the provision of specialized services in this area.

The company's products include a wide range of products, which include:

• A variety of spare parts for trucks, cars, motorcycles, yachts, minibuses (Bosch spark plugs, filters, lamps, belts, brake elements).
• Electronic system parts and accessories.
• Engines.
• System for ensuring the comfort of the driver and passengers.
• Security systems.

Key Automotive Components Company

Bosch Silver spark plugs, which are designed for high thermal loads, deserve special attention. They can even be used in racing equipment, since the central electrode of these parts is made of solid silver. These ignition elements also have increased temperature properties and resistance to chemical attack.

As for batteries, each such battery combines optimal starting energy, high performance, safety, and the ability to start a car in cold weather. In addition, Bosch batteries are sealed and resistant to tilts up to 55 degrees, do not require maintenance, and are quickly recharged. Most of them work using absorbent fiberglass, which, in turn, provides the necessary degree of performance during operation of these devices.

It is also worth noting another type of Bosch product, the country of origin of which is a recognized leader in automobile production. The company is one of the leading manufacturers of parts for gasoline injection. Unlike its competitors, the German concern offers its customers a full line of products, starting with small elements and ending with completely finished fuel systems.

Sphere of consumption

Bosch, as of 2014, had 9% of its income from the production of consumer goods. The company produces electrical tools for construction work, industrial activities and home use. The German brand also produces high-precision measuring and powerful garden equipment.

Industrial sector

Bosch subsidiary Rexroth is today the world's leading supplier of advanced technologies in the field of hydraulic drive and automated control systems. In addition, there is a division called Bosch Packaging Technology, which, in turn, specializes in the production of packaging lines for the pharmaceutical and food industries.

Other activities

Bosch has not ignored thermal technology either. And therefore the company produces highly efficient energy-saving heating equipment and generates ideas in the field of hot water supply.

In parallel with this, the concern is actively developing and selling video surveillance equipment, various security systems, and fire alarms. The company's interests include selling cost-effective energy saving solutions to consumers in commercial buildings and structures.

Activities in the CIS

Bosch products first appeared on the Russian market back in 1907, but the company's official representative office in the Russian Federation was opened only in 1997 in Moscow.

In Ukraine, the German giant acquired a production facility specializing in the restoration of automobile starters. The company is located in the Lviv region, a village called Krakovets.

Some people still believe that the country where Bosch washing machines are produced is certainly Germany, but in reality this is not at all the case. Today's realities are such that Bosch cars are assembled in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the CIS countries and Southeast Asia. Why, all of Eurasia uses washing machines of this brand, but the problem is that Bosch machines assembled in one country differ from similar models assembled in another country. We need to deal with this!

How it all began?

The name Bosch brand appeared thanks to the father of the founder of the electrical equipment company, Robert Bosch, who began his entrepreneurial activities in the last quarter of the 19th century. The development path of his “brainchild”, the electrical equipment company and the Bosch brand, was more than thorny.

Political upheavals and two world wars almost completely destroyed Robert’s company, but like a Phoenix, it invariably rose from the ashes, capturing the electrical markets of many countries and surprising people with its technological innovations. Thanks to the efforts of first the founder and then his family, the company is steadily developing to this day, exploring more and more new markets.

Today, several thousand items of various products are produced under the Bosch brand in dozens of countries around the world at hundreds of factories. At the same time, the company does not change its motto “quality over quantity”. Bosch began producing washing machines relatively late. The first successful commercial washing machines with their logo went on sale in Germany in 1958.

The revival and development of the Bosch company was ensured by the fact that its board always made bold decisions regarding the introduction of advanced technologies into production. The company did what others were afraid to do and very successfully.

In 1972, Bosch carried out a massive injection into the market of automatic washing machines, which created a sensation among the female half of consumers of their products and increased the company’s reputation and its income. The company entered the Russian market relatively recently, back in 1997, but this did not prevent it from firmly gaining a foothold in this market and calmly and systematically developing it until today.

Today, under the Bosch brand, hundreds of models of automatic washing machines are sold on the Russian market, which have a variety of characteristics, but not all are produced in Russia. Where are the Bosch washing machines beloved by Russian consumers assembled?

Producing countries

The reference production of automatic washing machines of the Bosch brand is, of course, located in Germany. Germany is the first country where the company managed to truly expand. Today Germany has the largest production facility of the technical concern BSH, specializing in the production of automatic washing machines from Bosch and Siemens in the city of Noen, which is located near Brandenburg. This enterprise produces the most technologically advanced models of Bosch washing machines of the WLX and WAS series.

In general, since the mid-1990s, the BSH concern (owner of the Bosch brand) has been pursuing a policy of optimizing production facilities located in Germany and creating new facilities in third countries with cheap labor and more favorable business conditions. On German soil, only 4 factories produce washing machines. Germany is now turning into the concern's scientific center.

In Berlin, and in other German cities, technology centers, laboratories and pilot production facilities are opening, providing the group of companies with new technologies, which they then implement, including in their washing machines. However, no matter how much you would like to buy Bosch washing machines made in Germany, this is not always easy, because only 7% of all washing machines that the group of companies put on the market are manufactured there.

What are the specifics of German Bosch washing machines? No matter how representatives of the Bosch concern assure their consumers that any of their products are of consistently high quality, no matter what country they are produced in, the craftsmen know that equipment marked “country of production Germany” is superior to equipment assembled in other European countries and the USA , not to mention washing machines made in China, Latin America or Russia.

It's all about the highest quality of assembly and components. “Boshis” assembled in Germany wash on average 5-7 years longer than their foreign counterparts, but these are average statistical data. Germany produces hundreds of thousands of washing machines every year labeled WAS, WLX, WAY, WIS and WKD.

For your information! Surprisingly, in Germany the BSH group of companies does not have a production facility capable of producing the latest washing and drying machines.

Where else are Bosch washing machines assembled? The largest number of factories of the BSH group of companies are concentrated in Europe. Not counting 4 German production facilities, there are 37 enterprises producing washing machines and their components in Europe.

• Automatic washing machines marked WAA, WAB, WAE, WOR are produced in Poland.
• There is a plant in France that produces WOT washing machines under the Bosch brand.
• Washing machines are produced in Spain, marked with three letters WAQ.
• Bosch machines are made even in partly European Turkey, marking them with WAA and WAB.

In addition to Europe, such equipment is also produced in Russia. Bosch washing machines made in Russia are marked WLF, WLG, WLX. All Russian Bosch washing machines are manufactured at two large factories. One is located in the city of Engels, and the other in the city of Tolyatti.

The latest washing and drying machines from Bosch are produced in Southeast Asia in the People's Republic of China. The machines that “this country produces” are distinguished by their large load, the presence of drying and a whole bunch of introduced innovations. Their markings are WVD, WVF. In addition, WLM and WLO washing machines are made in China.

The lineup

Today, about 500 models of modern automatic washing machines with completely different technical characteristics are produced under the Bosch brand. From such a diverse range of models, any consumer will certainly choose a “home assistant” to their liking. What are the main advantages of all Bosch washing machine models?

1. Compared to competitors, the quality of components is high, they function for a long time and rarely break down.
2. High build quality, especially when it comes to Bosch washing machines from Europe.
3. A large number of innovative developments that improve the quality of washing, save time, energy and water.
4. The company's flexible pricing policy makes many Bosch washing machines as cheap as possible. Even despite the significant exchange rate difference, European Bosch washing machines remain competitive in Russia.
5. Bosch washing machines are easier to repair and it’s easier to find spare parts for them, if, of course, your machine needs repairs at all.

Currently, in the CIS countries, you can purchase many interesting models of “home assistants”. To illustrate this, we decided to make a short review, which we hope will complement this publication as much as possible.

Any Bosch washer-dryer is very expensive. For example, the model we have shown, made in China, will cost about $1,500.

So, where are Bosch washing machines assembled? It will not be an exaggeration if we say that everywhere. Not all production facilities have sufficient information, but it is known for certain that the BSH concern, which owns the Bosch brand, has production facilities in Europe, North Africa, Russia, Central Asia, China, the USA and even 6 countries in Latin America. So the whole world knows and actively uses these washing machines!

Today Bosch is one of the most famous brands in the world. But it’s hard to imagine how much Robert Bosch had to go through so that we could use his products these days. It is only worth mentioning that the Bosch empire suffered both world wars.

Robert Bosch was born on September 23, 1861 in the German city of Ahlbeck and was the eleventh child in a family of Swabian landowners. He inherited his entrepreneurial spirit from his parent. His father, Servatius Bosch, owned a hotel with the proud name "Crown", which included a brewery and extensive land. His father once insisted that Robert graduate from the local technical school.

In 1879, an eighteen-year-old young man completed a course in precision mechanics and went to Cologne, where he began working as a copper smelter at the enterprise of his brother Karl Bosch. But Robert did not like working in a hot shop, so after a few months he quit this occupation and went in search of a more suitable business. For six years, Robert Bosch managed to work at many German enterprises, mainly related to the production of electrical engineering, and even studied a little at the electrical engineering department of the University of Stuttgart.

The young technician's research continued in New York, where Robert worked at the Bergman and Edison companies. A few years later, the twenty-two-year-old technician left America with a mixture of admiration for advanced production methods and outrage at the working conditions of the staff. Having finally tried his luck in London with the Siemens brothers, Robert Bosch returned to his homeland with the firm intention of founding his own company.

On November 15, 1886, Robert Bosch received official permission to open his own company in Stuttgart, called the “Workshop of Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering.” The original staff of the company consisted of one mechanic and one apprentice, and the authorized capital of 10,000 German marks was taken from his father's inheritance.

The company went through quite a few trials in the first years of its existence. At first, she repaired telephones, typewriters and cameras. There weren’t enough orders, and Robert personally rode his bicycle to customers, starting to repair the most trivial appliances. Gradually, the circle of clients expanded, and the number of hired workers increased. But this could not save the enterprise from the economic crisis that gripped the Old and New Worlds in the early 90s of the century before last. The company almost went bankrupt. To cut costs, Robert Bosch kept only three of the 25 workers at work, and to replenish working capital he borrowed money from the bank under the guarantee of his relatives. And if it were not for the contract with the authorities of Stuttgart, who started electrifying the city in the mid-1890s, it is unknown how long Bosch’s company would have existed.

With the end of the crisis, Bosch began new research, this time his interest was attracted by the car. The success of Bosch is inextricably linked with the invention of the magneto - a device for igniting the air-fuel mixture in internal combustion engines. His stylized image still adorns the company logo. In 1897, the Englishman Frederick Simms, owner of the Daimler Motor Company, turned to Bosch with a request to improve the magneto ignition system for the cars he produced. Until now, his cars used a sparkpipe or battery ignition system. But the ignition tube threatened to catch fire every minute, and the battery system could not provide a sufficient duration of the trip.

In those days, magnetos, with the help of which safe ignition was carried out for a long time, were installed only on stationary power plants due to their dimensions. Bosch improved the design of the magneto, made it more powerful and compact, and by 1897, 55% of the company's income came from the sale of the new Bosch magneto. The recognition of the Bosch magneto culminated in the victory of the Frenchman Marcel Renault in the Paris-Vienna race in 1902 in a 14 CV car equipped with a significantly improved ignition system - a high-voltage magneto together with spark plugs made it possible for the first time to create a high-speed engine.

New prospects that opened up after a successful experiment with installing magnetos on Frederick Simms' cars prompted the young entrepreneur to open representative offices outside Germany. However, soon after setting up a joint venture with Simms in London, Bosch discovered that his English partner, instead of ordering ignition systems from Stuttgart, began secretly producing them under the Simms-Bosh brand. As a result, breaking in 1906-1907. all relations with Simms, Robert Bosch independently began manufacturing and marketing his ignition systems in Great Britain, France, Belgium, Austria-Hungary and America.

The supply of Bosch ignition systems radically affected the development of the American automotive industry, since most of the local manufacturers used them in their cars. Despite this, the American authorities, protecting domestic producers, increased import customs duties to 45%, thereby making Bosch magnetos uncompetitive. By opening a plant in Springfield, Bosch was able to bypass economic barriers. By the beginning of the First World War, the company already had 33 divisions around the world, and its turnover reached almost 27 million German marks.

The First World War dealt a crushing blow to Bosch's business, cutting him off from the world market. All patents for inventions were used for free by the victorious allies, which in one fell swoop stripped the company of more than half of its assets. Bosch property abroad was confiscated. But the greatest damage was caused to the reputation of the company, under whose name the Americans continued to produce low-quality products. After the war, they even tried in court to ban Bosch from using its own trademark in the United States. Court hearings lasted for several years, after which the company, in order to protect its own trademark, began to use the officially registered corporate logo and the inscription “Germany”.

In mid-1925, the Bosch company organized a conveyor assembly of magnetos and spark plugs: cheaper cars and increased competition required cheaper components and assemblies. Nevertheless, the Bosch magneto remained quite expensive. For example, in the early 30s, a magneto for a medium-sized car cost 200 Reichsmarks - two salaries of a Bosch worker and 10% of the cost of a small car. Therefore, the company continued its research, developing a cheaper system - battery ignition, the principle of which is still used in the automotive industry.

The year 1926 was marked by the first crisis of automobile sales and, accordingly, production - the market was close to saturation. Therefore, the company decided to turn to innovation again. Despite the almost monopoly position in the supply of ignition systems, Bosch did not want to make the company's success strictly dependent on one type of product. In case a new type of engine or ignition system appears, Robert Bosch's company began developing electrical accessories for cars. The company's product range included systems that included electric headlights, a battery and a generator for recharging it. In a market where acetylene headlights, which were quite inconvenient and dangerous to use, prevailed, such a product was doomed to success.

Bosch then decided to diversify its business from being a supplier of automotive components to a multinational manufacturer of electrical equipment. This policy was implemented partly through its own development of power tools and household appliances, and partly through the purchase of new divisions of the corporation. For example, promising companies “Junkers” (manufacturing gas water heaters), “Idealwerke” and “Bauer” (production of film projectors) were purchased.

In 1938, the American and German branches of the company merged as the American Bosch Corporation (ABC). However, the success was short-lived. Just three years later, Bosch property was again requisitioned by the American authorities after the United States entered World War II. It is not surprising that Robert Bosch disliked Hitler. “I’m too old to pretend,” the 72-year-old entrepreneur used to say when the Nazis came to power. He himself used forged documents to hide in his factories Jews who were threatened with the gas chamber. And his economic adviser, Karl Goerdeler, used company money to organize underground resistance groups and participate in organizing a conspiracy against Hitler.

Bosch died in 1942 in Stuttgart at the age of 81. In his will, he specified that dividends from his company's shares be used for charitable purposes. And the heirs transferred their shares to “Robert Bosch GmbH” - a charitable foundation founded by Bosch during his lifetime and later named after him.

After Bosch's death, his company was headed by Hans Waltz, who worthily continued Bosch's work. It fell to his share to restore the company literally from ruins for the second time. And Waltz succeeded in this largely thanks to Bosch’s careful care for the company’s reputation during his lifetime.

Since then, many useful things have appeared to the world thanks to the Bosch developers. The company is a leader in the manufacture of electric hair clippers, electric drills and much more. Today, Robert Bosch GmbH is one of the largest German industrial concerns. The company operates in four areas: automotive equipment, communications technology, household appliances and capital goods. 250 thousand employees worldwide work tirelessly to ensure that Bosch continues to be a leader in innovation worldwide. This is how Bosch’s “workshop” managed to grow over the past 2 centuries. Meanwhile, 92% of the company's authorized capital belongs to the Robert Bosch Foundation, whose main goal is charitable work. The remaining 8% is at the disposal of the heirs.

In the fight for social justice
Robert Bosch, who in his youth drank the “happiness” of an employee, has always remained faithful to the desire for social justice. In 1894, eight years after its founding, the working day at the enterprise was reduced from 10 to 9 hours, and in 1906 an eight-hour working day with a two-hour lunch break was introduced. Given that Saturday was a working day, the work week lasted 48 hours. This was an extraordinary phenomenon at that time - two thirds of German factories used hired labor from 57 to 60 hours a week. Since 1910, in addition to shortened working hours on Saturdays, Bosch employees received financial compensation during vacations. And in 1927, the prototype of the current pension funds “Bosch-Hilfe” (from German - Bosch-help) for elderly personnel was founded.

The principles laid down once by Bosch are still alive in the company. Numerous social programs and high salaries are familiar to every company employee today; the only condition is tireless work on innovation.

The company logo next to the headquarters building in Gerlingen

In August 2007, Bosch became the first foreign company to begin producing its power tools in Russia (Engels, Saratov region). In 2008, Bosch acquired the production of the Danish company Holger Christiansen in the village of Krakovets (Lviv region, Ukraine), which is engaged in the restoration of starters.

Bosch Group

• BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH (50%) - BSH Household Appliances (joint venture with Siemens)
• Bosch Rexroth AG (100%) - Bosch Rexroth
• Bosch Thermotechnik GmbH (100%) (siehe Junkers, Buderus, Loos International und Bosch KWK Systeme) - Bosch Thermotechnik
• Beissbarth GmbH (100%)
• Robert Bosch Car Multimedia GmbH (100%)
• Bosch Sensortec GmbH (100%)
• Bosch Engineering GmbH (100%)
• Robert Bosch Tool Corporation USA (100%) subsidiary of Dremel Corporation
• Bosch Emission Systems GmbH & Co. KG; together with Deutz AG and Eberspächer GmbH & Co. KG
• Bosch Sicherheitssysteme GmbH (100%)
• Bosch Sicherheitssysteme Montage und Service GmbH (100%)
• ETAS GmbH (100%)
• ZF Lenksysteme GmbH (50%); together with ZF Friedrichshafen AG
• AIG Planungs und Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH (100%)
• Hawera Probst GmbH (100%)
• Bosch Mahle Turbo Systems GmbH & Co. KG (50%); together with Mahle GmbH
• SB LiMotive Co. Ltd. (50 %); in collaboration with Samsung SDI
• Bosch Solar Energy AG (100%)
• Robert Bosch Healthcare GmbH (100%)
• Bosch Software Innovations GmbH (100%)
• Bosch Power Tec GmbH (100%)
• Bosch Battery Solutions GmbH (100%)

Key developments

The company owns a significant number of innovations and technologies that have become breakthroughs in their field.

Automotive parts and components:

Power tools:

• 1932 - the world's first electric hammer drill
• 1946 - the world's first jigsaw
• 1952 - the world's first electrical insulating material for power tool housings
• 1984 - the world's first cordless hammer drill
• 1990 - introduction of the innovative SDS-max system (instant clamping of equipment)
• 1992 - the world's fastest two-kilogram Bosch rotary hammer in its class
• 1994 - the most powerful blow in its class - the GBH 10 DC rotary hammer
• 1997 - the world's first variable grinder.

Activities in the region

In 2007, the Bosch group continued to experience revenue growth in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus: its consolidated turnover in these countries in 2007 increased by 24% and reached 678 million euros.

In 2007, the consolidated turnover of Bosch in Russia amounted to 591 million euros (an increase of 26% compared to 2006). Unconsolidated turnover reached 619 million euros.