Many brands, many tools, one battery system: The Professional 18V System - powered by Bosch

Many brands, many tools, one battery system:

The Professional 18V System ‒ powered by Bosch

Keynote speech by Lennart de Vet,

Managing Director of the Robert Bosch Power Tools GmbH

on the occasion of the press conference

on July 14, 2020

Check against delivery.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to the first Bosch Professional Power Tools virtual Press Conference! Bosch Power Tools stands for user centricity and innovation. We develop our products and services fully based on the needs of our users: “We make the Pro more efficient” ‒ this is what we stand for, this is also our slogan. Tradespeople have to deliver high quality in short time. And they have to be competitive. This is exactly what our professional range is designed for: We give tradespeople tools in their hands that make them faster and let them achieve the best results easier and – of course just as important – safer. Their focus is on productivity. This is what differentiates trade and industry fundamentally from our DIY users.

We have achieved and we will continue to achieve great success with this strategy. Innovations such as our first professional 18 V rotary hammer with lithium-ion technology convince our professional users. The GBH 18V-LI Professional was groundbreaking back in 2010 as it offered power and therefore an application range, that was previously only provided by much heavier and bigger 36 V tools. More recent examples based on our users’ needs are the time-saving X-Lock quick-change system for angle grinders which we have introduced last year and our high-performance Biturbo cordless tools. We bring innovation to power, year after year, again and again.

Talking about high-performance cordless tools, they are on the rise in many areas. We at Bosch pioneered battery technology for power tools in 1969: Back then, our batteries weighed 5.5 kilos and were far from what you would call comfortable today – but they laid the foundation for the development of numerous world-first cordless professional tools from Bosch.

In fact, when it comes to professional users, the share of cordless tools will increase from about 60 percent today to more than 80 percent in 2023. The reason for that is straightforward: They offer high added value. You can use them almost without limits in any environment, and – more and more – they are even outperforming their corded counterparts. Regarding our Bosch Professional 18V System, there is yet another benefit: Our users need just one battery for various products, ranging from drill/drivers, saws and sanders to benchtop tools. And there is much more to come as we are continuously extending our cordless Bosch Professional 18V System.

From now on, we are going even one step further. In fact, this is a groundbreaking moment for our users: They won’t have to bother any more about compatibility issues of batteries and chargers from different brands. This chapter will be closed once and for all!

Starting as of today, we are opening up our leading 18 V cordless platform for professional partners. Yes, you heard right: Our light-weight, high-performance 18 V batteries will not only power Bosch Professional tools. We are also cooperating with renowned manufacturers worldwide and are offering one 18 V system for specialized and innovative key brands. This will generate additional benefits for our users as he or she will be able to choose from a wider range of applications than ever before.

By the way: Today, we also announce a cross-brand battery partnership for our DIY users – tailored to their specific needs. Here and now, I will keep on focusing on our professional users.

We are convinced: The cordless construction site increases the efficiency of each and every tradesperson – and each and every company. Cordless tools enable professionals to work faster and more effective. Our vision is to offer trade and industry the best 18 V system covering all types of applications over many brands and countries – and thus delivering maximum added value. Many brands, many tools, one battery system ‒ I am delighted to introduce you today to our partners for the first time: Brennenstuhl, Sulzer, Klauke, Ledlenser Lena Lighting, Sonlux and Wagner. All of them are experts in their field. They have placed their trust in the Bosch brand. And together, we have a common goal: We make the Pro more efficient. In the future, our users will be able to use one and the same Bosch Professional battery in every 18 V tool ‒ across various brands. This will not only save them space and time, it will also save them money with every new purchase.

By opening our Professional 18V System, it will become even more attractive through additional expert brands and expand even faster. We are convinced that this will give our users a sustainable benefit for their work. Investing in the Professional 18V System means investing in Pro technology that offers maximum flexibility and continuous innovation. We will show you in a second what we mean by this. Let me just mention some key benefits: Full compatibility since 2008, fastest charging time in the market, unique CoolPack Technology, latest cell technology for the best battery performance. And – our flagships – our high-performance ProCore18V batteries. Most importantly, however, our users will experience a new boost in flexibility.

To date, users have already purchased more than 60 million professional 18 V lithium-ion batteries bearing the Bosch name. Together with our partners, we are driving forward the cordless construction site of the future. We are excited to jointly set this milestone today and look forward to welcome further partners! Let’s now take a closer look at our new application variety ‒ of course, we will be pleased to provide more information during a discussion afterwards. But first of all: Action!