Bosch Engineering expands its development location in Holzkirchen

Holzkirchen – With a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony representatives of Bosch Engineering and ITK Engineering together with Mayor Olaf von Löwis and other community representatives marked the official beginning of the expansion of the Bosch subsidiary in Holzkirchen. A new office building and a parking facility are expected to be finished by autumn 2021. Office space and laboratories will be made available for 900 associates on 17,000 square meters. The new parking facility will measure 21,000 square meters, providing space for around 800 cars and around 130 bicycles.

Bosch Engineering Holzkirchen is growing

Bosch Engineering GmbH had been located in Holzkirchen for many years and has had a site in the North industrial area since 2015. In the third building phase, an area measuring four hectares will now be the new home to a location that has taken on a campus-type character. During the past years, the number of associates in Holzkirchen has grown to about 190. Holzkirchen, with around 190 employees, is the second-largest location in Germany after its headquarters in Abstatt near Heilbronn. During the past years, the location has developed into a competence center for electromobility at Bosch Engineering GmbH. In addition, the location in Holzkirchen has also placed a strong focus on the topics of assistance systems for agricultural and construction machinery as well as on the development of solutions for automated driving in passenger cars. “With this expansion, we are making long-term investments in the future of the location and in the development of the individual business fields,” emphasizes Berthold Steinmann, Bosch Engineering GmbH's site manager. “All the topics located here are fast-growing fields, which is why we need more space.”

New growth location for ITK Engineering

ITK Engineering, a Bosch subsidiary, will also benefit from the new campus. The technology company with a total of around 1,300 associates has its headquarters in Rülzheim/Rhineland-Palatinate. In fall 2021, the employees of the second largest location in Martinsried near Munich are to move to Holzkirchen. With its customized software and system solutions, ITK Engineering will help shape the future of automated driving, electromobility, Industry 4.0, rail technology, and other industries. As part of the planned further growth, around 250 associates will move into the new Bosch building. The project office on the Frankfurter Ring in Munich will continue to exist. “Today's groundbreaking ceremony is an important strategic step for us. With the new building in Holzkirchen, we can both create an attractive working environment and realize the growth we are aiming for: We plan to offer a total of around 400 jobs in Holzkirchen by 2024, primarily in engineering, informatics, mathematics, and technology,” says Michael Englert, founder and managing director of ITK Engineering GmbH.

Open campus with highly flexible, inspiring work environment

With this expansion, Bosch wants to create an open, green area. There will be Wi-Fi in all buildings and in the adjacent outdoor areas, so that the entire campus will become a workplace and offer a variety of opportunities for different encounters and interaction. Bosch Engineering and ITK Engineering will benefit equally from this campus concept, even though the premises of the two companies within the building are clearly separated from each other. The new three-and-a-half floors office building with an ecological wooden facade offers state-of-the-art work and project space on the upper floors in keeping with concept of inspiring working conditions. This translates as open office space with areas for team and individual work, which includes workshop rooms, flexible group work tables, but also traditional meeting and conference rooms as well as access secured project rooms. In addition, electronic laboratories will be created in which ECUs can be put into operation and tested. Individual rest zones, focus rooms, and telephone booths are provided for concentrated individual work. “With the modern and inspiring working environment, we want to create a wide variety of communication and work areas on the one hand, and promote personal exchange and close networking among the teams, on the other,” explains Peter von Wartenberg, managing director of Bosch Engineering.

Michael Englert continues: “We are closely involved in the construction planning and want to create a modern working atmosphere where people feel comfortable, feel our corporate culture, and promote the cooperation, innovative spirit and creativity of each individual. As the founder of ITK Engineering, I am very happy to be able to shape the technological future with my team from Holzkirchen in the future.”

The ground floor is reserved for the foyer, conference rooms, communication and meeting zones as well as functional rooms. A catering service, a coffee shop for associates and a health area are also planned. The second building will be a multifloor parking facility with around 800 parking spaces and up to 200 charging points for electric vehicles. “About a quarter of our associates already come to work by bicycle today,” says Berthold Steinmann, site manager for Bosch Engineering. To encourage this further, some 130 covered bicycle parking spaces are also now being built, including charging stations for e-bikes. Changing rooms and shower facilities will also be available to associates in the future.

Ecological aspects will also be taken into account in the construction of the new building. A solar roof measuring 1,300 square meters and a green roof, for example, are now in the planning. The LED lighting will be controlled by the presence and motion of associates as well as the available daylight.

The new Bosch campus creates a dynamic, creative environment that promotes both communication among associates and the rapid development of innovations.