The Bosch Group continues its strong investment in China: the technology and service company opened a new plant for electronic components in the southeastern Chinese city of Changzhou.
“With another production site for Bosch Automotive Electronics in China we are strengthening our successful localization strategy and emphasizing Bosch’s confidence in the Chinese market,” said Klaus Meder, president of Bosch Automotive Electronics.
By 2019, Bosch will have invested more than 100 million euros (approximately $106 million USD) in the new site where it plans to employ 1,300 new associates.
“With the new electronic plant we are also reacting to the growing local demand for connected products and solutions,” said Meder. According to a current study, connected driver assistance systems could, for example. prevent an annual total number of about 20,000 accidents that result in injuries in China.
The new facility will mainly focus on the manufacturing of electronic components for automated driving and connected products. These include cameras and radar sensors for driver assistance systems and electronic control units (ECU) for automotive steering systems, as well as Central Gateways for connected vehicles. Located in the Wujin Economic Development Zone in Changzhou with a size of 34,000 square meters, the plant is producing mainly for the Chinese market. By 2019, around 41 million electronic control units are scheduled to roll off the assembly line each year. Since 2006, the business unit Automotive Electronics is already running a production plant in Suzhou. In total, the Bosch group has more than 60 sites in the People’s Republic.
Bosch lead plant for Industry 4.0 in China
In the new plant, Bosch is planning to combine its well-established Bosch Production System (BPS) for standardized Lean processes with connected manufacturing.
“We are investing in Industry 4.0 to meet the ever diversified market demands in a more agile and faster way,” said Meder. A total number of 14 Bosch plants in China are already equipped with connected technologies. The company is a leading user and leading provider of Industry 4.0. In China, Bosch also is cooperating with the Development Research Center (DRC) of the Chinese State Council and is contributing to promote connected manufacturing in the country.
The Bosch Group has been present in China since 1909 and is today represented with all of its four business units. Besides Germany, China is the second-largest market for Bosch and employs the world’s largest Bosch workforce outside of Germany.
