The Bosch Group officially opened its new Robert Bosch headquarters for ASEAN countries today and pledged to continue research and development into resource-saving and environmental protection solutions.
The leading global supplier of automotive, industrial, consumer and building technology and services spent $92 million on a state-of-the-art building that won the highest accolade for buildings with high environmental performance standards.
The new building has an energy consumption of around 32 percent less than comparable industrial buildings. By 2020, the Bosch Group aims at reducing the CO2 emissions of its worldwide sites by at least 20 per cent.
“Bosch’s commitment to provide technological answers to ecological questions is also reflected in our new Southeast Asia Regional Headquarters in Singapore,” said Franz Fehrenbach, chairman of the Bosch board of management.
“The new building not only houses our business divisions providing resource saving and environmentally-friendly innovations and technologies for the region, it is itself a showcase of a substantial effort in green building technology,” he said.
The group had recently selected Singapore has been as the new location for Bosch Solar Energy’s operations in South East Asia, Japan and Korea.
The guest-of-honour at the opening was Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Lim Hng Kiang.
“The opening of Bosch’s Southeast Asia headquarters is yet another significant milestone in the strong partnership between Singapore and the Bosch Group. Bosch’s decision affirms the important role Singapore plays for companies looking to tap into the burgeoning Asian markets, as well as
our ability to host innovation and knowledge intensive activities,” said Mr Lim.
Singapore is the Asia Pacific hub for Bosch’s divisions such as Corporate Research and Advance Engineering and the recently acquired Innovations Software Technology. Other Bosch business units located in Singapore are Power Tools, Packaging Technology as well as Drive and Control Technology.
Bosch recently also acquired new companies with subsidiaries in Singapore, such as Hägglunds (a hydraulic drives company), sia Abrasives (a supplier of innovative abrasive systems), and Loos (a supplier of high performance boilers for industrial and commercial use).
The group said it would continue to leverage on Singapore as a base to further expand its business portfolio into the region.
Steps taken to strengthen Bosch’s presence in the region include the expansion of its automotive parts plant close to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the establishment of a representative office in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and the opening of Bosch Security Systems’ first Communication Centre in Manila, Philippines, to provide outsourcing services to international customers.
Fehrenbach added, “Asia Pacific accounted for 20 percent of Bosch Group’s total sales in 2009, making it the second most important region for sales after Europe. We expect sales in the Asia Pacific region to grow to a share of 30 percent by 2015. We are excited to be here, participating in the
growth of this dynamic region.”
In 2009, Bosch spent 45 percent of its research and development to develop products that protect the environment and conserve resources. Such products already represent one third of the Group’s overall sales, with the trend set to increase.
Bosch is a leader in fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly automotive technology, energy-efficient household appliances, gear and drive technology for wind turbines and photovoltaics.
In Singapore, Bosch is active in diverse fields of R&D activities such as participation in a test bed for modern diesel cars, development of new IT solutions and software, research in organic photovoltaics, as a well as emobility.
“Singapore is an excellent location for R&D activities. We have access to a skilled talent pool from all over the world, which creates a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary melting pot that fuels the exchange of new ideas for the benefit of further developing our business across Southeast Asia and
beyond,” said Cem Peksaglam, President and Managing Director of Robert Bosch (SEA).
Bosch employs some 3 500 staff in Southeast Asia. The 2009 sales of Bosch to third parties in Southeast Asia were marked by the worldwide economic crisis and declined by 4.5 percent to 363 million euros. Including all exports, Bosch achieved sales of 638 million euros in the region.
For 2010, Bosch expects a growth in sales to third parties by some 10 percent.
