Brussels/Stuttgart – The Bosch Group has received a total of four awards at the 2012 EFQM Excellence Award ceremony in Brussels. The winner of the Excellence Award and thus the overall winner of the competition is the Bosch plant in Bamberg, Germany. The annual awards conferred by the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) are considered Europe’s most prestigious for business excellence. An overall winner is only crowned when an organization demonstrates outstanding performance in all the categories of the EFQM excellence model. The winners of the individual prizes demonstrate exemplary behavior on such criteria as "adding value for customers," "nurturing innovation and creativity," and "taking responsibility for a sustainable future."

“Our associates perform outstanding work daily. As such, we’re very proud to have received this recognition, which above all belongs to our associates in Bamberg and Bari,” said Bernd Bohr, chairman of the Bosch Automotive Group, after the ceremony.

Bamberg plant: high degree of associate commitment
In addition to the top prize for exemplary management practices, the Bosch Bamberg location also impressed the judges with its performance in the categories “leading with vision, inspiration, and integrity” as well as "succeeding through people." The judges particularly admired the associates’ active commitment to achieving corporate goals. “The executive management of the Bosch plant in Bamberg act as role models. They lead by example, and through the many approaches they use to involve their associates in the deployment of their strategy,” said Marc Amblard, the chief executive officer of EFQM, at the presentation of the award.

The Bamberg plant managers accepted the award on behalf of the plant’s associates. “We owe our outstanding performance to the commitment of our associates. They are ultimately responsible for Bosch’s lasting success,” said Franz Hauber, the technical plant manager. 7,300 associates currently work at the Bamberg location, which produces components for customers in the automotive industry. Bamberg is also the lead plant for 20 additional Bosch locations in eleven countries.

Bari plant: impressive performance in quality, delivery, and cost
The Bosch plant in Bari, Italy, was honored with a prize for the best performance in “managing by processes.” The plant implements a process management framework aligned with its strategy, according to the EFQM, and its approach shows remarkable results in terms of quality, delivery, and cost. Bosch has been present in Italy since 1904, and mainly manufactures diesel injection pumps for vehicles at Bari, its largest plant in the country.

Bosch: a frequent winner of EFQM awards and prizes
The international supplier of technology and services has been a role model for the EFQM members for many years. In 2003 and 2008, for example, the plant in Bursa, Turkey, was named overall winner.

30,000 organizations use the EFQM model
The EFQM has created a universally applicable model which allows both an organization's management practices and the sustainability of their implementation to be evaluated. The model was developed in 1998 with the aim of increasing the competitiveness of European businesses. It is now used by more than 30,000 organizations. An international panel of judges evaluates the participating organizations, which are to be found practically throughout Europe, and rates them according to nine criteria. In addition to reviewing the comprehensive applications submitted by the organizations, assessors spend a week at each site in order to evaluate the breadth and depth of their adherence to the EFQM excellence model.