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Bosch Rexroth achieves stable sales at previous year's record level in 2019

16.04.2020

Press release

Business/economy

Bosch Rexroth achieves stable sales at previous year's record level in 2019

Lohr am Main, Germany – Bosch Rexroth held up well in 2019 in a difficult environment and despite a sharp drop in incoming orders. At 6.2 billion euros, sales remained stable at the previous year’s record level. The company benefited from a solid core business in hydraulics and the further expansion of its product range in factory automation as an important door opener for new markets. “We draw a positive conclusion for 2019," says Rolf Najork, member of the Board of Management of Robert Bosch GmbH, responsible for the Industrial Technology division and Chairman of the board of Bosch Rexroth AG. "In view of the volatile markets and the noticeable economic slowdown, this very good result was anything but certain. It shows that our broad positioning with different divisions is a great advantage and that we have set the right course with our structural adjustments.” In 2019, Bosch Rexroth was able to match the success of the previous year in all regions. The core markets of Germany and Europe remained the strongest. Sales in Germany dropped by 4.1 percent to 1.4 billion euros. In the remaining European markets (excluding Germany), sales declined by 0.3 percent to 2.1 billion euros compared to the previous year. In the growth markets in the Asia-Pacific / Africa region, Bosch Rexroth achieved sales of 1.6 billion euros, which equals a slight increase of 0.6 percent. The region North and South America recorded a 5.3 percent rise to 1.1 billion euros. At the end of the fiscal year (December 31, 2019), the company employed around 31,000 people worldwide.Economic environment and COVID-19 pandemic cloud prospects for 2020 Bosch Rexroth expects business to decline in all regions and sectors in the current fiscal year 2020 due to the general economic weakness and the structural change in customer sectors closely linked to the automotive industry. Order intake declined by 20.3 percent in the course of 2019. Additionally, the global COVID-19 pandemic is currently clouding business expectations for 2020. Hence, the systematic implementation of measures to improve competitiveness in all areas is particularly important for Bosch Rexroth. "We are very much concerned with the current developments regarding COVID-19. We have taken extensive measures during the past weeks to protect our employees, customers and partners while ensuring the best possible supply," says Najork, "Safety is our top priority throughout. We want to be a reliable and responsible partner for our customers, also and especially in such global crises". Focus on innovations and new markets Bosch Rexroth remains one of the most significant innovation drivers and pioneer for new technologies in its markets. For example, the company invested some 348 million euros in research and development in fiscal year 2019 – an increase of 6.2 percent over the previous year. The company continues to focus on developing connected and fully automated solutions in the two major areas of hydraulics and factory automation. All divisions contributed to the success of Bosch Rexroth in 2019. While the core business with industrial and mobile hydraulics proved to be a solid foundation, the factory automation division with its focus on Industry 4.0 and the vision of the fully connected factory of the future, developed into an important door opener for new markets and customers.Machinery Applications and Engineering: connected and intelligent hydraulics Bosch Rexroth is actively driving change in its traditional core business of industrial hydraulics: smart hydraulic components and systems such as the compact hydraulic unit CytroBox can be quickly and easily integrated into connected manufacturing facilities. They are Industry 4.0 ready and offer services for the Internet of Things (IoT), for example for condition monitoring of machines and plants.Mobile Hydraulics: Smart Solutions for the mobile work machine of the future Despite the tense market environment, Bosch Rexroth was able to further expand its market share in mobile hydraulics in 2019. New activities in the fields of automation and driver assistance systems, electrification and IoT are future key topics. With BODAS Connect, Bosch Rexroth offers an open, scalable end-to-end solution to connect mobile work machines with each other. It enables customers to retrieve and analyze data from the mobile application. At the 2019 BAUMA trade fair for construction machinery, the company also presented the first components of a future range of electrification systems for work machines. These solutions support customers in reducing emissions, while further increasing performance. Here, Bosch Rexroth benefits from the long-standing Bosch expertise in electromobility. Factory Automation: new standards for connected manufacturing Connected assembly and intralogistics remain an important strategic focus for Bosch Rexroth’s factory automation division. The spotlight is on the vision of the factory of the future with software-based, automated and connected solutions. The company was able to further strengthen its position as an innovation driver in 2019, amongst others with the open ctrlX AUTOMATION platform. As the first 5G-capable automation platform from Bosch Rexroth, ctrlX AUTOMATION connects a wide range of devices with the new communication standard and ensures consistent connectivity in factories. Existing machines can be upgraded with the new technology via retrofit solutions. The Active Shuttle, which was also introduced in 2019, ensures greater flexibility and higher productivity in the automated factory. The autonomous transport system sets new standards in intralogistics, transports loads of up to 260 kilograms and is loaded and unloaded fully automatically using an integrated lifting platform."GoGreen" project: targets for energy and CO₂ savings exceeded In 2019, Bosch Rexroth was also able to record important achievements in CO2 neutrality: as part of the Bosch Group, the supplier of drive and control technologies has set itself ambitious goals to reduce energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. In the scope of the Bosch Rexroth project “GoGreen”, energy efficiency is being systematically improved in all plants and at customers' sites since 2011 – with an extremely positive outcome: by the end of fiscal 2019, Bosch Rexroth had saved 620 million kilowatt hours of electricity and gas worldwide thanks to "GoGreen," corresponding to more than 265,000 tons of CO₂. This equals the annual energy consumption of a city with some 80,000 inhabitants. Energy consumption at the Bosch Rexroth locations was reduced by 20 to 50 percent. Since the end of 2019, Bosch Rexroth has achieved a CO2-neutral “footprint” in Germany.

23.02.2018

Factsheet

Working at Bosch

Factsheet: Bosch in Mexico

Important location for the global network of the Bosch Group Bosch has been active in Mexico since more than 60 years (1955) in Mexico. Today, it is present with all of its four business sectors. At ten locations (Aguascalientes, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Juarez, Mexicali, Mexico City, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Tepotzotlán, Toluca), Bosch employs 16,000 associates in Mexico – more than double than in the beginning of the decade. In 2017, business developed well as Bosch generated sales of 1.2 million euros (1.3 billion US-Dollars). Mexico is an attractive market already today and remains an important location in the Bosch Group’s global manufacturing and research network. In Mexico, Bosch is developing and manufacturing both, for the local market as well as the Americas region. The company produces for example hydraulic systems, power tools, security systems as well as mobility solutions such as steering systems and driver assistance systems like ABS and ESP. As a leading user of Industry 4.0 Bosch is also using connected solutions at its Mexican manufacturing plants to increase efficiency, e.g. Juarez and Toluca. The company also offers a wide spectrum of solutions in the areas of drive and automation technology as well as sensors and software for the Mexican manufacturing industry. Mexico is also becoming an increasingly important development location for the Bosch Group. In 2014, the company opened its first software engineering center for the Americas in the Mexican city of Guadalajara. Bosch’s focuses on a strong localization strategy in Mexico: this includes local engineering, manufacturing as well as a high share of local supply.Dual education at Bosch in Mexico The dual education system has a long tradition at Bosch: Robert Bosch set up the first occupational training department at his company in 1913. Today, the supplier of technology and services is training some 7,300 apprentices in more than 30 countries – with nearly 2,500 of these apprentices based outside Germany. Vocational competence development is part of the localization strategy of the Bosch Group. In Mexico, too, the demand for qualified professionals is high. More than 150 apprentices are currently being trained at three Technical Training Centers (Centro de Capacitación Técnica) at Bosch in San Luis Potosí, Toluca and Juarez. The training center in San Luis Potosí opened in 2001 and celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2016. This made Bosch the first - and for a long time the only – company to offer dual training in Mexico. Meanwhile, the model is also used by other companies and is now officially recognized by the Mexican government. Based on the dual system, the center, in collaboration with the San Luis Potosí University of Technology (Universidad Tecnológica de SLP), offers a three-year training in mechatronics with a focus on flexible manufacturing. In addition to technology, subjects such as corporate governance, communication, teamwork, the Bosch Production System (BPS) and quality standards are part of the curriculum. Connected manufacturing requires new skills among skilled workers and trainees. The current dual training program therefore also includes topics in the fields of automation, robotics, IoT and Industry 4.0 in Mexico. Both training and exam requirements comply with the German standard. The training centers are IHK / AHK certified. Since autumn 2017, Bosch also offers apprenticeships for industrial business management for the first time. Market with potential With more than 120 million inhabitants, Mexico is an attractive market. Mexico is the 15th largest economy in the world and has a similar importance in international trade. Mexiko is the country with the most free trade agreements worldwide. In 2016, Mexico was the world's eighth largest market for machinery and equipment with a volume of more than 27 billion euros. Mexico is the seventh largest car manufacturer and the fourth largest exporting nation in the global automotive industry.In view of the country’s current health profile, this market offers increasing potential. Furthermore, Mexico’s food processing industry is the tenth largest worldwide.