Bosch is planning on investing 77 million euros in its existing development centre in German Schwieberdingen Most of the money will help build new offices for employees working on electric transport solutions Bosch will spend the first 27 million this year The Stuttgarter Zeitung quotes the head of the facility saying the remaining 50 million euros will be invested next year In Schwieberdingen they are developing high voltage batteries for electric vehicles among other solutions They employ 6,500 people there to date and this number is likely to grow in line with the new investments Bosch would not go into detail on this though they are currently looking to fill 600 positions but are having trouble finding skilled workers They need software and electrical engineers in particular to move to the town near Stuttgart Pausch also pointed to training that enables employees to switch from gas guzzlers to electric drive development for example Bosch has set up a dual degree in partnership with Esslingen University the investment in Schwieberdingen underscores a global push for electric mobility Their estimates suggest that 20 million hybrid and electric vehicles will be sold worldwide in 2025 but will also be producing electric cars from the I.D family Only when it comes to making battery cells for electric vehicles in Europe, Bosch declined.  CEO Volkmar Denner had concluded previously that they would have to generate 200 GWh to make the investment worthwhile but at a cost of 20bn euros While Denner said the money as such would not be “any problem” for Bosch the supplier decided that it would not be worth the risk A statement reads: “Given dynamic external market factors that can only be predicted with difficulty it is unclear whether this investment would pay off for Bosch and when.” In particular competition from Asia is making it difficult Bosch will stick to battery cell design and especially systems as well as other electric mobility solutions stuttgarter-zeitung.de I agree with the Privacy policy electrive has been following the development of electric mobility with journalistic passion and expertise since 2013. 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With news, background information, driving reports, interviews, videos and advertising messages. so you can live like a Bosch"},{"headline":"Annual report","href":"/company/annual-report/","label":"Our year in numbers"},{"headline":"Contact us","href":"/contact/","label":"How can we help you?"}] [{"label": "Hydrogen" "href": "/search.html?q=Hydrogen"},{"label": "Artificial intelligence" "href": "/search.html?q=Artificial intelligence"},{"label": "Automated driving" "href": "/search.html?q=Automated driving"},{"label": "Careers" "href": "/search.html?q=Careers"},{"label": "Podcast" "href": "/search.html?q=Podcast"}] Select a language Impressions of the Bosch center of competence for 3D printing The advantages of 3D printing are the new freedom it brings to geometrical design Thanks to the center of competence for 3D printing engineering and manufacturing associates are already making use of these additional benefits “Developments are racing along like an express train,” says Jan Tremel the head of the center of competence for 3D printing which belongs to the Gasoline Systems (GS) and Diesel Systems (DS) divisions “That’s why it’s so important for us to be making use of this technology now within our company and giving people the skills they need to work with it.” The center of competence (CoC) is taking a two-pronged approach The developer training center (DTC) at the Schwieberdingen location gets developers from the company's various divisions up to speed with the technology the aim is to show all divisions how 3D printing can be used to construct prototypes Workshops give developers the opportunity to see what is possible ten industrial 3D printers have been available at the Schwieberdingen location since March 2016 3D printer in action: complex plastic parts are printed over several hours Inspired by the possibilities of 3D printing: Jan Tremel “This centralized CoC initiative is much more efficient than having individual departments explore the possibilities of 3D printing for themselves,” Tremel says The majority of the printers in Schwieberdingen print plastic and can be used to produce presentation models or functional prototypes on the basis of ideas at a very early stage of development The geometric freedom this printing process offers is much greater than with conventional manufacturing methods such as turning or milling the 3DP manufacturing and processing center (MPC) at the Nuremberg plant has been concerned with manufacturing components and garnering production experience a high-pressure pump is currently being developed for the injection system of a Formula 1 engine This kind of extremely customized component where weight is minimized and performance is crucial and which will be produced in extremely low numbers is one of the ways in which 3D printing will find its way into mainstream production It means a product can be tested in the market without first having to invest heavily in a production line coupled with growing demand for several different variants is a great opportunity for 3D printing,” Tremel says “It enables us to supply our customers with new products in an extremely short time and in completely new fields.” Tremel is certain that “there will be fewer and fewer components that stay unchanged over decades and identical across markets worldwide 3D printing lets us customize products and adapt them even better to our customers’ requirements.” Tailor-made: 3D-printed plastic parts Summary In Schwieberdingen Bosch is training engineers from all its divisions to exploit the possibilities offered by 3D printing The center of competence’s work also focuses on the company’s manufacturing operations Russia and Germany have had close ties since tsarist times president and CEO of Bosch Group's operations in Russia He can say that again: Bosch first arrived in Russia in 1904 Though it did not stick around in Soviet times the engineering and electronics giant came back to Russia in 1993 opening its first factory in the Saratov region on the Volga River in 1996 Bosch has maintained a steady presence on the country's power tools automotive components and household appliances markets ever since and not for nothing: Bosch's growth rate in Russia in 2010 and 2011 reached up to 30 percent Growth has since slowed to hover around 10 to 20 percent but still far outstrips the national average — the Russian economy in 2014 is struggling to avoid a recession "I call it back to normal," the 53-year-old Pfeifer says modestly of his company's expansion during an exclusive interview with The Moscow Times held at the company's new boiler plant in the Volga city of Engels in the Saratov region last week The exorbitant growth in 2011 was due in large part to a 156 million euros ($212 million) paycheck for Bosch's work on the main stage of Moscow's renovated Bolshoi Theater a 12-story-tall piece of theatrical machinery Bosch's products remain in demand in Russia and neither an economic slowdown nor the ruckus over Ukraine and the threat of Western sanctions are slowing down its activity in Russia Bosch has invested 250 million euros ($340 million) in Russia so far including in three plants in Saratov and a joint venture with Siemens in St An automotive components plant in Samara is slated to open in 2015 and all that on top of a 120-million-euro ($163 million) headquarters in Khimki The German conglomerate's presence in Russia resembles the Bundesteam's steady unstoppable advance in the football World Cup in Brazil — duly noted by Pfeifer as if anticipating Germany's 7-1 demolition of Brazil in the semi-finals that though Bosch is already planning to get involved with the preparations for the 2018 world championship in Russia — it provided equipment for the recent Sochi Olympics — "we are not done with this one." Pfeifer — an impeccably polite man with a calm gaze and occasional flashes of wry humor — had no personal ties to Russia before coming here as Bosch supremo for the region in 2011 He speaks with Russians through an interpreter But the company is doing something right in Russia and Pfeifer sat down with The Moscow Times to talk about why the country's business climate is not as bad as it may seem This interview has been edited for length and clarity Q: What has been the impact on Bosch of Western sanctions against Russia A: We are observing the situation closely But we have to distinguish between effects: The economy has been slowing down since 2011 we see a strong influence of the ruble exchange rate which is affecting us quite severely [the ruble fell to all-time lows against the dollar and euro earlier this year but is currently 12 percent weaker against the dollar and 16 percent weaker against the euro than 18 months ago] For a company the size of ours with a high degree of imports this is a heavy burden and a big challenge despite an ongoing localization strategy which started to deteriorate from last November but it is not the impulse that created the challenge to industry in Russia Bosch is looking at double-digit growth this year and so I am confident that growth potential despite a weak economy for our company Q: How do you rate the current investment climate in Russia A: The climate for the foreign direct investment has been going in the right direction in recent years though further steps are both necessary and possible the improvement has given us the confidence to invest in this market which we believe will further develop in the right direction in the mid- and long-term despite the current volatility We are absolutely sure that the Russian market is a strategic growth market for Bosch we are seeing a stronger business orientation in among officials We see very good support in the regions we see strong involvement of the governor and we see a higher degree of professionalism in attracting and supporting businesses But there is room for further improvement with bureaucracy We would prefer to produce power drills or washing machines than papers "But that is certainly not the headline please," Pfeifer adds with a laugh Q: So the business climate has improved in the regions A: I cannot judge from my own experience because I have been in Russia for only three years but I am told by our associates and by people who have been here for a long time that it has improved significantly in the last decade There was the early phase of the young Russia when the country had to find itself and now there is definitely the desire to attract foreign companies The federal initiative to improve business climate and climb all the way up to the world's top 20 have certainly helped [the World Bank's Doing Business 2014 ranking placed Russia 92nd and though it is still way behind many of its rivals they have the strong ambition to go on That is also a reason why Bosch is continuing to pursue its investment strategy which is always oriented for the long-term Q: How would you rate Russia's human capital A: There are a lot of strong points if we take young university graduates Russia is traditionally very strong in natural sciences we find young people with diplomas in IT But what I would recommend — and I am talking to deans of universities — we need a more international flavor in the education of the students In a globally active company we need interchangeability — we are going from India to Brazil to Russia to China and back again so we want an international workforce that is internationally orientated Language skills also need to be improved Bosch runs its own junior management program in Russia about 40 young people are currently doing a two-year internship on very precise production projects Q: What's your own impression of Russia A: As I had no personal experience of Russia I had a 100-percent surprise factor on arriving The negative surprise — the last 5 percent — was traffic in Moscow This is why we built our new headquarters in Khimki, outside that stress and close to the Sheremetyevo Airport Among the positive surprises I'd name first of all the reliability of business partners We really have the trust of our business partners and confidence in them and it is a sustainable business relationship Q: Has corruption been an issue for Bosch in Russia A: That can be the difficult side of business in Russia but not really in the area of business to business In the business environment the situation is not that different from some Western European countries and in our field of activity we can clearly comply with our values in the Bosch Group our business model is not exposed to problems in other areas of the Russian economy customers and distributors deal with us on the basis of our values Our experience with dealing with local authorities here in Engels and in the Moscow region was positive There were no hurdles created by the administration We are working on the basis of verifiable rules and laws [Pfeifer declined to speculate about the causes of the improvement in the business climate Russian regions are increasingly short of income is fueling a scramble for investment from the previously apathetic local governments.] [The Volga region had a large German diaspora from the late 18th century until World War II] A: I don't want to say "rather by chance," but it is because in 1996 we bought 51 percent of a Russian spark plug company here That was the starting point of our Russian localization strategy The fact that there is a good understanding of Germany for Germans is certainly a plus point for the region Q: What do you think of Russian economy's prospects beyond oil and gas A: I think it is a very good initiative by the government to initiate the Skolkovo innovation hub [a center on the outskirts of Moscow announced by then President Dmitry Medvedev in 2009 to boost Russia's science and technology sector] It is a step in the right direction quicker than the competitors or the countries with which you are in competition [Bosch spent $7.6 billion worldwide on R&D last year] There are patentable ideas that were generated in Russia and combined with other ideas in Germany Due to the strong scientific background in Russia there are a lot of good ideas here Russia is not lacking ideas; it is lacking a little bit in the execution that richness in natural resources is still holding back pressure to develop other industries faster Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent." 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