In 1937, Bosch AG became a limited liability company ( GmbH). These 'shadow factories' were built under great secrecy and in close cooperation with the Nazi authorities. Both plants were used exclusively for armament production. Bosch founded two such alternative plants in 19: Dreilinden Maschinenbau GmbH in Kleinmachnow near Berlin and Elektro- und Feinmechanische Industrie GmbH (later Trillke-Werke GmbH) in Hildesheim. In late 1933 negotiations between Robert Bosch AG and the Nazi Party began on relocating parts of armaments production to Germany's interior. On the other hand, with Robert Bosch's support, the company supported oppositional and anti-regime activities with the utmost secrecy. On the one hand, the company was systemically relevant as a motor vehicle supplier during the Nazi era, and the management behaved loyally toward the regime. The year 1933 marked the beginning of the darkest chapter in Bosch's corporate history. In 1933, Bosch presented its first electric refrigerator for private households. In 1932, the company developed its first electric drill and presented its first car radio. in 1932, as a part of a diversification strategy. Bosch bought the gas appliances production from Junkers & Co. In 1927, Bosch launched injection pumps for diesel. In the 1920s, Bosch expanded its product range to include numerous automotive technology products that were required for cars in everyday use: electric horn (1921), windshield wipers (1926), and direction indicators ('trafficator', 1927). In the years that followed, Bosch concluded contracts in Asia with sales partners in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and what is now Indonesia, for example, and on the American continents with partners in Mexico, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador. In 1922, for example, Illies & Company established a sales office for Bosch goods in Calcutta, India. This included opening up further South American and Asian regions. The company had to largely rebuild its international activities. 1920s–1945 Īfter the First World War, Bosch lost most of its international holdings, including its U.S. In the process, the company became a limited liability company (GmbH). In 1917, Bosch was transformed into a corporation and remained so until 1937, when Robert Bosch became the sole owner again after buying back his shares. Bosch opened the first factory outside Germany in Paris in 1905, and the first on another continent in 1912 in Springfield, Massachusetts (USA). By 1909, Bosch was represented by trading partners on every continent: in 1906 in New York (U.S.) and Johannesburg (South Africa), in 1907 in Sydney (Australia), in 1908 in Buenos Aires (Argentina), in 1909 in Shanghai (China), in 1910 in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and in 1911 in Tokyo (Japan). Bosch's international development began in 1898 with the opening of a branch in London, followed the next year by Paris, Vienna, and Budapest. In 1913, Bosch founded an apprentice workshop in order to recruit qualified young people for the production of automotive electrics.

While Bosch had a workforce of 45 in 1901, it had grown to more than 1,000 by 1908. The onset of motorization in road traffic meant that the company grew very rapidly after 1900. In this factory, Bosch started to produce generators and headlights 'Bosch-Light' in 1914. In 1910, the Feuerbach plant was founded and built close to Stuttgart. In the same year, Bosch introduced the eight-hour day for workers. In 1906, the company produced its 100,000th magneto. In 1901, Bosch opened its first factory in Stuttgart. In 1902, the chief engineer at Bosch, Gottlob Honold, unveiled the high-voltage magneto ignition system with spark plug. The next year Bosch presented a low voltage magneto for gas engines.įrom 1897, Bosch started installing magneto ignition devices into automobiles and became a supplier of an ignition system. The company started in a backyard in Stuttgart-West as the Werkstätte für Feinmechanik und Elektrotechnik (Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering) on 15 November 1886. History 1886–1920 Robert Bosch, founder of the company In terms of revenue, Bosch is the largest automotive supplier in the world. Although the charity is funded by owning the vast majority of shares, it has no voting rights and is involved in health and social causes unrelated to Bosch's business.īosch's core operating areas are spread across four business sectors: mobility (hardware and software), consumer goods (including household appliances and power tools), industrial technology (including drive and control) and energy and building technology. Bosch is 94% owned by the Robert Bosch Stiftung, a charitable institution. The company was founded by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart in 1886. Robert Bosch GmbH ( / b ɒ ʃ/ German: ⓘ), commonly known as Bosch, is a German multinational engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, Germany.

Bosch hammer drill price