By Ronald Rey M. de los Reyes | Photos by Randy Peregrino
FROM a small village northeast of Ulm in southern Germany, playing with his little electric mechanical toys, Robert Bosch never expected to grow a company that would soon later be the world’s largest supplier of automotive components. More so, did he even foresee that a tiny electric spark would already solve one of the greatest technical problems faced by the nascent automotive industry at the start of the 20th century. In fact, fast forward to now, its enormity can even be felt all the way right here.
In 2014 Bosch closed its fiscal year in the Philippines with $42.5 million in consolidated sales.
The company achieved a double-digit growth of more than 45 percent—making the country as the fastest-growing market for Bosch in Southeast Asia.
This strong growth is credited to the successful performance of its power tools and automotive businesses, along with significant contributions from its security systems, which formally established local operations in 2014. Furthermore, the major player locally increased its work force to nearly 400 associates.
“As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of our office in Manila, Bosch remains strongly committed to the Philippine market through continued product and service diversification, employment growth, compelling social and sustainability programs, trainings and partnerships,” said Andrew Powell, managing director of Bosch Philippines.
As a matter of fact, continuous expansion is currently being done in the country, as Cagayan de Oro is earmarked as the third Bosch business hub location, after Cebu and Davao in 2013. The new branch is set to open before year-end. This strategic location provides easy access to a large concentration of markets in Northern Mindanao, including mining and energy.
Meanwhile, Bosch’s other business sectors, like the consumer goods, for one, achieved their eighth consecutive year of double-digit growth in the Philippines.
“For 2015, we expect further sales growth in the country based on an increased demand for our innovative products ‘invented for life,’” Powell asserted.
The year 2014 saw the completion of Bosch’s Paint the Town Red project, in which the company constructed basketball courts for underserved barangays nationwide. Turning over, for example, was the 56th court in Supertyphoon Yolanda-stricken Tacloban City. It is said to also be working closely with schools to develop learning modules suitable for K to 12 applications in the coming months.
On a global scale, Bosch expects sales to grow within an exchange rate-adjusted range of 3 percent to 5 percent by year-end.
In a recent annual news conference in Germany, Bosch CEO Volkmar Denner said: “Our economic and technological strengths in established business fields are enabling us to tap into new market segments.”
Web-enabled products and Internet-based services are now one of the focal points of the company’s future business.
“We are driving connectivity forward in all our business sectors and playing an active role in shaping it,” Denner added.
Bosch, meanwhile, also made its strong presence felt in other parts of the world during the past year. The company achieved a year-on-year sales growth of around 7 percent in Southeast Asia alone by generating $893 million.
Image credits: Randy Peregrino