Bosch, the leading German engineering-electronics company, is planning to invest 160 million Euros ($214.7 million) in Vietnam for the next three years to expand three areas in its company: its present production site for push-belts; Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) in automobiles; and its new automotive research and development (R & D) center in Southern Vietnam.
Prior to this new investment, Bosch was already approved to put in $240 million to its Vietnamese company Robert Bosch Vietnam Co. Ltd. in the Southern province of Dong Nai last year. The money was to be used to construct a plant to make spare parts and fund training programs for local workers. Between 2010-2014, the Vietnamese Bosch company has put in about 3.3 billion Euros ($4.43 billion) in Pacific Asia for its localization project due in 2020.
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The new automotive research and development center of Bosch Vietnam will be constructed at E-Tow Tower, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City. It will be the second R & D center of Bosch in the country. The first one was built four years ago in the Southern city and specialized in software and engineering R & D. The center has the specific purpose of creating Computer-Aided Design (CAD), simulations and testing of automotive technologies like CVT and fuel injection. It offers smart solutions-embedded software, hardware, IT tools, mechanical design, business IT, and IT-enabled services.
The software and engineering R & D center of Bosch Vietnam, the first Southeast Asian facility of the giant company, even exceeded its main company’s expectations in the first 18 months of its operations. It earned 500 associates in May of this year, a milestone for the company. Meanwhile, the Pacific Asian region holds the record for the number one growth sector for the company, doubling its sales to about 11 billion Euros ($14.76 million) over the course of ten years up to last year.
Photo by http://nhabepbosch.com.vn/
Localization is one of Bosch’s primary goals, concentrating in its Pacific Asia region. The company sees localization as the major growth factor, especially in the following sectors: local manufacturing; product management, engineering and local supply. At present, Bosch has branches in 16 countries in the Pacific Area with 120 locations and 52 manufacturing facilities. It also constructed a new software research and technology center with focus on the Internet of Things and Services (IoTS) in India at the onset of 2014. It also has a facility in Japan, which will expand in the area of pharmaceutical inspection technology. The automotive manufacturing department of its China branch will launch two sites: exhaust gas turbochargers in Shanghai; and clean diesel systems in Qingdao. It is also here where Bosch put up its Pacific Asia engineering division in charge of automotive aftermarket parts, as well as a plant and testing facility for driver assistance and safety products.
In Indonesia, automotive parts like fuel injectors and oxygen sensors began production in the middle of June. The Thailand plant will also start making chassis systems this year as part of its automotive section for gasoline-related products. South Korea Bosch expanded its plant for gasoline and diesel direct injection systems while the mother company invested in a new production facility for the drive and control technology division in charge of manufacturing hydraulics components and systems. In India, a new innovative automotive technology facility was constructed.
Bosch further plans to open new offices in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Myanmar, eyeing a huge growth potential in the Southeast Asia.