Robert Bosch GmbH

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Robert Bosch GmbH ^[1] is a German diversified technology based corporation which was started in 1886 by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart, Germany. ^[2]

Robert Bosch GmbH is the world's largest supplier of automobile components and has business relationships with virtually every automobile company in the world. The automotive product portfolio of the company includes niche solutions such as powertrain automation, vehicle dynamics stability and also smaller components such as starters, alternators, spark plugs etc.

In addition to auto-component supply business, which brings in more than 90% of its revenues, the company produces industrial machinery and hand tools. It also owns 50% of Bosch-Siemens Hausgeräte, the European appliance maker.^[2] Bosch's Blaupunkt unit is a main manufacturer of vehicle audio equipment.^[2] The subsidiary Bosch Rexroth produces hydraulic, electric, and pneumatic machinery for applications ranging from automotive to mining.^[2]

The headquarters of Bosch is in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart. Franz Fehrenbach became chairman on July 1, 2003.

In auto-component supply market, the top competitors of Robert Bosch GmbH are: Delphi Corporation, Visteon, DENSO Corporation, Siemens Automotive AG ^[2], and Continental AG.

The Bosch Group comprises more than 275 subsidiary companies. The objectives of the Bosch Group's activity are sustained profitable growth and the safeguarding of its independence which allows it to pursue long-term strategies. In 2005, worldwide sales of the Bosch Group came to €41.5 billion (reported as $49,102,300,000) ^[2], with about $8 billion in US sales.

In 2004, Robert Bosch GmbH was 17th on the list of "Top 20 Patent Winners" in the United States, with 907 new patents. This was an improvement from 20th (758 patents) in 2003, and 23rd (683 patents) in 2002. [3]

[edit] Ownership

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 (92%) owned by a charitable foundation. Thus while most of the profits are plowed 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 (above), the Robert Bosch Stiftung ("Robert Bosch Foundation") holds 92% of the shares ("Beteiligung") of Robert Bosch GmbH, but no voting rights ("Stimmrecht"). The Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG ("Robert Bosch Industrial Trust KG"), with old members of the company management, agents of the Bosch family and other eminent people from the industry (such as Jürgen Hambrecht, CEO of BASF), have 93% of the votes ("Stimmen"), but no shares ("0.01"). The remaining 8% of shares and 7%^[2] of voting-rights are held by the descendants of the company founder Robert Bosch (Familie Bosch).

For example, in 2004 the net profit was $2.1 billion. But only $78 million was distributed as dividends to shareholders. Of that figure, $72 million was distributed to the charitable foundation and the other $6 million to Bosch family stockholders. The remaining 96 percent of the profits were pumped back into the company. In its core automotive technology business, Bosch invests 9 percent of its revenue on research and development, nearly double the industry average of 4.7 percent. [4]

[edit] Arrangement of the company

Although most of the company's plants and employees are located in Germany, Bosch is a truly worldwide company.^[2] In North America, Robert Bosch LLC (a wholly owned Bosch subsidiary) has corporate headquarters in Broadview, IL; with factories and distribution facilities in Mt. Prospect, IL; Hoffman Estates, IL; Farmington Hills, MI; Kentwood, MI; Waltham, MA; Clarksville, TN; and 14 other cities. The Research Technology Center is located in Palo Alto, CA near Stanford University. There are also two corporate sites in Brazil and ten in Mexico where is a central purchasing office for all divisions of Bosch Group.^[3] In North America, Bosch employs about 23,000 people, including 17,060 in the United States, 6,470 in Mexico and 590 in Canada.

There are other wholly owned Bosch subsidiaries in:

• India (15,250 employees);
• Brazil (14,190);
• China (12,370);
• France (9,720);
• Czech Republic (8,690);
• Japan (8,130);
• Spain (7,950);
• Turkey (6,700);
• Hungary (6,280);
• Italy (5,160);
• the United Kingdom (4,920);
• Portugal (3,940);
• the Netherlands (3,320);
• Switzerland (2,780);
• Malaysia (2,220);
• Austria (2,140);
• Belgium (2,040);
• South Korea (2,000);
• Russia (1,730);
• Australia (1,700);
• Poland (1,640);
• Sweden (1,230);
• South Africa (1,010);
• Tunisia (770);

and other countries. Bosch employs over 261,300 people in more than 50 countries, supplying a complex distribution network of new products and parts.^[4]

[edit] Automotive Technology

About 50 percent of Bosch's worldwide annual sales are produced in automotive technology. Bosch invented the magneto, a predecessor of the alternator, which sparked most of the earliest internal combustion engines. Bosch also invented the anti-lock braking system (ABS), and as time passed, Bosch became a leader in such specialized fields as traction control systems (TCS), the Electronic Stability Program (ESP), body electronics (such as central locking, doors, windows and seats), 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.

Robert Bosch GmbH is supplying hybrid diesel-electric technology to automakers, including PSA Peugeot 308 ^[5].

[edit] Industrial Technology

Bosch's subsidiary Bosch Rexroth is a supplier of industrial technology. Through this division, Bosch supplies technologies for driving, controlling, and moving machines. These technologies serve Bosch's two core markets – factory automation and mobile hydraulics. Bosch's packaging technology division plans, designs, manufactures and installs packaging lines for manufacturers of pharmaceutical, confectionery, food, and similar products. Bosch is the largest supplier of packaging technology.

[edit] 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.

With its brands Bosch, Skil, Dremel and RotoZip, Bosch manufactures power tools for the building trade, industry, and do-it-yourselfers. The product range also includes accessories such as drill bits and saw blades, as well as gardening appliances under its Gilmour brand.

Bosch is the largest European manufacturer of thermotechnology (heating units etc.) 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., FHP Manufacturing, Geminox, IVT, Nefit, Sieger, Volcano and Worcester.

BSH Bosch and Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH, in which Bosch and Siemens 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, the 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, NC. Its competitors include Viking Range, Sub-Zero Refrigerator, Wolf Appliance (a division of Sub-Zero Refrigerator), Dacor, and Miele. Although Bosch is a German brand, most of the new appliances are not made in Germany, but in Spain or Turkey.

Bosch also supplies electronic security systems for homes, offices and vehicles, as well as the famous Blaupunkt car stereos.

[edit] History

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Profile at Yahoo! Finance: Bosch-YF-profile.
• Home page of Bosch website in the English language
• Bosch GmbH USA official website
• Bosch GmbH UK official website
• Bosch Power Tools North America official website

Categories: Articles that include images for deletion | Articles lacking reliable references from Feb 2007 | All articles lacking sources | Auto parts suppliers | Motor vehicle companies | Automotive companies of Germany | Engineering companies of Germany | Electronics companies of Germany | German brands | Home appliance manufacturers | Tool manufacturers | Home appliance brands