This year Bosch UK is celebrating a significant milestone. The company reached its 125th anniversary in March. This is something that everyone at Bosch UK is proud of, not least because we’re the first country outside of Bosch’s homeland of Germany to reach the 125-year mark.
In recent months I’ve found myself thinking about how we’ve been able to survive and thrive for so long. What gives a business the ability to keep progressing for more than a century? Unsurprisingly, there isn’t one answer.
You have to have the right products – products which solve the user’s pain point – if you want to grow. Robert Bosch came to London in 1898 and he sold his magneto ignition device to the early car manufacturers. These companies needed a reliable magneto that would allow their customers to use their cars whenever they needed it. At the time that level of reliability hadn’t been guaranteed, but Robert Bosch went some way to removing this obstacle to vehicle performance.
Diversify for strength
Bosch sold more than a million magnetos around the world and having built a reputation for solid engineering, Bosch began selling lighting systems, horns, and windscreen wipers. But in the 1930s the automotive market rapidly declined as the Great Depression struck. Robert Bosch realised that he had to build new revenue streams. He diversified into hair trimmers, then refrigerators, and by 1932 he had entered the central heating business.
This diverse product portfolio helped the Bosch business to grow right around the world. Robert Bosch placed a great value on reliability, and this led to the company developing a reputation for producing high quality goods. Robert Bosch was quick to understand that the best marketing he could do was to sell the very best products, especially in the B2B market.
Continuous innovation is also critical, and Bosch has always invested significantly in research and development. That means we’ve been at the forefront of many technological breakthroughs, from anti-lock braking systems to computer-controlled fuel injection, and from semiconductors, to hydrogen-powered lorries. By investing in research and development we continue to open the doors to greater sales and an even more high-tech future.
Employees at the core
In 1906 Robert Bosch was one of the first to bring in the eight-hour working day. He made sure his team worked in well-equipped offices, that they had good lighting and that they received the training required to further their careers. We continue this tradition today, for example we have strong partnerships with universities in the UK. This is the most important area that has enabled Bosch UK to power through the past 125 years. By valuing and investing in our employees, or associates as we call them, we’ve continuously strengthened every area of our business.
Curiosity is the biggest factor in ensuring a company’s longevity. At Bosch we’re always looking for ways to improve the quality of our products. What will the next iteration look like, how can we evolve it? And how can we develop our engineers?
Our mission is to ‘Invent for life’. That drove Robert Bosch when he set up his business in Stuttgart 1886 just as much as it drives us today in 2023.
Nanogenerator consumes CO2 to generate electricity
Nice to see my my views being backed up by no less a figure than Sabine Hossenfelder https://youtu.be/QoJzs4fA4fo