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Logo of Robert Bosch GmbH
'Robert Bosch
GmbH'
[1]
is a
German corporation which was started in
1886 by
Robert Bosch in
Stuttgart, Germany.
"Robert Bosch GmbH Company Profile - Yahoo! Finance" (profile),
Yahoo! Inc., 2007, webpage:
YahooFin-Bosch.
Bosch businesses include:
★
automotive parts and systems supplier;
★ consumer goods (power tools, home appliances);
★ Industry and building services engineering; packaging technology; and safety engineering.
Robert Bosch GmbH is one of the world's top manufacturers of automobile components, including antilock braking systems, diesel and gasoline fuel-injection systems, starters, alternators, and auto electronics.[ The company also produces industrial machinery and hand tools, plus owns 50% of Bosch-Siemens Hausgeräte, the European appliance maker.][ Bosch's ''Blaupunkt'' unit is a main manufacturer of vehicle audio equipment.][ The subsidiary ''Bosch Rexroth'' produces hydraulic, electric, and pneumatic machinery for applications ranging from automotive to mining.]
The headquarters of Bosch is in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart. Franz Fehrenbach became chairman on July 1, 2003.
The top competitors of Robert Bosch GmbH are: Delphi Corporation (dphiq.pk), DENSO Corporation (dnzoy.pk), Siemens Automotive AG.[, and Continental AG.]
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Bosch is a leading global supplier of automotive and industrial technology and of consumer goods and building technology. The Bosch Group comprises some 280 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 euros (reported as $49,102,300,000) [, 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. [1]
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.
Diagram of Robert Bosch GmbH (''Beteiligung'' relates to shares, ''Stimmen'' to voice/votes).
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%[ 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. [2]
Arrangement of the company
Although most of the company's plants and employees are located in Germany, Bosch is a truly worldwide company.
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]
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 [2].
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 confectionery, food, and similar products. Bosch is the largest supplier of packaging technology.
Consumer goods and power tools
Bosch belt sander 1274 DVS
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 EUR 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.
History
Notes
1.
The acronym "GmbH" (for German
''"Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung''")
means a business with limited liability.
2. http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070612/ANE01/70612004/1116
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
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