Sursa foto: Tetarom
After a year of the pandemic with better-than-expected results, the German group Bosch, a global provider of technologies and services, wants to hire more than 500 specialists in Romania and plans a series of expansions, including a software campus.
Bosch ended the fiscal year 2020 with consolidated sales of nearly 2.2 billion lei (448 million euros) in Romania, up about three percent from the previous year.
“Bosch, a global leader as a provider of technologies and services, ended the fiscal year 2020 with consolidated sales worth almost 2.2 billion lei (448 million euros) in Romania, thus registering an increase of about three percent compared with the previous year. Total net sales of 6.8 billion lei (1.4 billion euros), including sales of unconsolidated companies and domestic deliveries to affiliated companies, remained at a level similar to the previous year “, the group announced, as quoted by News.ro.
Mihai Boldijar, the representative of the Bosch Group in Romania, states that the Bosch Group in Romania has achieved remarkable financial results, despite the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the decrease in production in the automotive field.
“In fact, we had better results than we initially expected. Despite the challenging market environment, our forecast for the current fiscal year in Romania remains positive “, said Boldijar.
The number of Bosch employees in Romania reached approximately 8,160 on December 31, 2020.
Bosch invested approximately 487 million lei (approximately 100 million euros) in Romania in 2020, mainly in continuing the development of production units for Mobility Solutions in Cluj and Blaj. The electronic car components factory in Jucu, Cluj County, has increased its production and storage capacity, investing over 85 million euros in 2020.
The company is looking for employees
In 2021, to support the continued development of its operations, Bosch Services Solutions intends to employ more than 500 people specializing in areas such as software development, IT Help Desk, customer service, controlling, accounting, purchasing, and sales.
Bosch recently opened, in collaboration with local authorities, a vaccination center against Covid-19 at its factory in Cluj. The center will provide easy access to voluntary vaccination for any Bosch employee working in the area and a relative, as well as for the company’s suppliers and staff working for two other companies in the Tetarom III industrial park. Since 2013, Bosch has been producing, among other things, electronic airbag control units for multi-camera systems and driving and parking assistance, which increase road safety and driver comfort.
Since its opening, the Bosch factory in Cluj has supplied international customers with over 250 million car parts. In addition, the Blaj plant opened its own Bosch Medical Center in November 2020, in collaboration with health care provider Elisa Med. With an area of 600 square meters, is the first Bosch medical unit in Romania to offer health services.
The factory in Blaj produces sensors for the automotive industry, but also elements for the industrial sector. In addition, the Blaj plant became the main global Bosch unit for detonation sensors in 2020.
There are also approximately 1,000 employees working at the Engineering Center in Cluj. In addition, Bosch plans to expand its software campus with a second building. The new modern office building, which will be completed as planned in 2023, will be connected to existing facilities and will support the further development of the location in the field of automated and connected mobility.
“Bosch has recovered well from the first year of the coronavirus pandemic,” said Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of Robert Bosch GmbH.
The company expects another difficult year
However, the company expects another difficult year, mainly due to the risks of a further pandemic. To develop new business opportunities in the context of the profound changes in technology and ecology that are currently taking place, Bosch combines the Internet of Things (IoT) with artificial intelligence (AI) and focuses on electromobility.
“We are one of the winners of the transition to electromobility and we are significantly expanding our software business by involving artificial intelligence,” said Denner.
Global efforts to combat climate change are stimulating the fields of electrification and green hydrogen. Between 2021 and 2024, Bosch plans to invest one billion euros in fuel cell technology.
In the spring of 2020, the group achieved climate neutrality status in its more than 400 locations around the world. Bosch also aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 15 percent from the 2018 value chain across its entire value chain, from suppliers to customers by 15 percent, which represents a 67 million tonne reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
The Bosch Group has been present in Romania for 27 years and has over 8,160 employees in five entities. In 2020, Bosch recorded sales of 448 million euros on the Romanian market. Total net sales, including sales of unconsolidated companies and domestic deliveries to affiliated companies, reached 1.4 billion euros. In addition to the research and development center in Cluj and its production units for Mobility Solutions in Cluj and Blaj, Bosch also operates an industrial technology production unit, also located in Blaj, as well as an outsourcing service center for business processes (BPO) in Timisoara. In Bucharest, Bosch operates a sales office for the products of the Mobility Solutions, Consumer Goods and Technology for Construction and Energy sectors. In addition, a subsidiary of BSH Hausgeräte GmbH, active in the household appliances market, is also based in the country’s capital.
The Bosch Group has approximately 395,000 employees worldwide (status as of December 31, 2020). The company generated sales of 71.5 billion euros in 2020. Its operations are structured in four business sectors: Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Construction and Energy Technology. A leader in IoT, Bosch offers innovative solutions for smart homes, Industry 4.0, and connected mobility. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its nearly 440 regional subsidiaries and companies in approximately 60 countries. With more than 400 locations worldwide, the Bosch Group has been carbon neutral since the first quarter of 2020. Bosch has nearly 73,000 employees in R&D in its 129 locations around the world, as well as approximately 34,000 software engineers.
Translated from Romanian by Service For Life S.R.L.