Bosch: Global products, local talent and facilities

Bosch has a range of businesses, but is best known as the world's largest maker of auto components. Shao Chang / For China Daily

German auto components and electrical equipment giant Bosch concluded its 2013 fiscal year with a record sales revenue of 41.2 billion yuan in China, a significant growth of 18 percent from the previous year.

"This outstanding performance demonstrated the lasting strength and success of our innovative technologies and localized solutions," said Peter Tyroller, board member of Bosch responsible for the Asia-Pacific region.

"China will have stable growth, which will ensure a healthy business environment with dynamic opportunities. We aim to further strengthen our position in China, and we strive to achieve double-digit growth in the years to come as well," he added.

Bosch's automotive sector grew almost twice as fast as the market in China in 2013.

Sales in its other three business sectors also reflected the development of their respective industries in the past year.

In 2013, Bosch opened a plant for automotive aftermarket products in Nanjing, a chassis plant in Chengdu and an automotive test and technology center in Donghai, Jiangsu province.

This year, its joint venture Mahle Turbo Systems opened a plant in Shanghai to produce turbochargers for gasoline engines and a plant for diesel systems in Qingdao.

Bosch currently has 17 technical centers in China.

The number of Chinese associates working in R&D increased to 3,300, more than 10 percent of Bosch's total headcount in China.

Its power tools business reported moderate revenue growth.

In the energy and building technology sector, the thermotechnology division performed well thanks to its expanded portfolio and energy-efficient condensing appliances, while the security systems division experienced a slight decrease.

In the industrial technology business sector, its drive and control technology division has not yet fully recovered, but there are signs that the construction market is stabilizing.

The packaging technology division also achieved moderate growth.

Bosch attributed continued success in China to ongoing efforts in localization at its various operations.

In the last three years, Bosch invested more than 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in China to further enhance its local value chain.

It filed more than 150 patents in China last year, nearly 20 percent more than in 2012.

"We are focusing on affordable products tailored to local customer needs without compromising Bosch quality," said Chen Yudong, president of Bosch (China) Investment Ltd.

In addition to growing investment in production, local talent is also a focus in Bosch's business strategy.

By the end of 2013, its workforce in China increased to more than 32,000. Two-thirds of its local management team is Chinese.

Bosch has diverse training programs for its employees. In 2013, the Bosch Training Center offered more than 900 training sessions.

For these efforts, Bosch has been named a top employer in the past three years by the Corporate Research Foundation, an international human resource institute.

"Our dedicated employees are our great strength and I would like to give credit to them for Bosch's business success in 2013," said Chen.

The innovations provided by our talented employees will continue to be a main driver of our future success."

Sustainable efforts

In China, rapid industrialization and urbanization poses enormous environmental challenges that make energy-saving and emissions-reducing efforts necessary.

"The fastest way to get results is by improving the efficiency of energy conversion. Bosch offers innovative technical solutions for energy efficiency ranging from mobility to home appliances", said Tyroller.

For example, on the path to electrification, Bosch still aims to reduce the fuel consumption of gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles by a further 20 percent by 2020 from their 2012 level.

Bosch has introduced its environment, health and safety standards in all its manufacturing sites in China, especially for energy saving, resource conservation and pollution prevention.

Due to the efforts of its 150 associates involved in supervising and controlling work across China, Bosch China has reduced its relative energy consumption by almost 24 percent and carbon dioxide emissions by 21 percent in 2013 compared with 2007 levels.

Bosch also estimated more than 75 percent of the global population and 6.6 billion devices will be connected to the Internet by 2015, which will bring more convenience in daily life and significantly improve energy efficiency.

In line with this trend, Bosch is reaching out to new business areas and promoting new business models by leveraging and combining its wide-ranging expertise in existing areas of business.

"The Internet of things and services is now a hot topic in China and we expect stronger momentum in the coming years. As an innovative company, Bosch is ready for the business opportunities that brings to us," said Chen.