NANJING, China – The Bosch Automotive Aftermarket division has invested some 120 million euros in new facilities in Nanjing, China. In the future, the plant will manufacture spark plugs, brake pads and testing equipment for workshops – predominantly for customers in Asia Pacific. In addition, the location will serve as a research and development center.
“The new plant is the biggest investment we have ever made in expanding our production capacity anywhere in the world,” said Robert Hanser, president of the Automotive Aftermarket division, Robert Bosch GmbH, at the plant’s official opening on March 20. “This is a clear demonstration of the importance we attach to Asia Pacific’s high-growth markets, and above all, to China.”
Hanser went on to say that this additional production capacity would put Bosch in a position to meet the needs of workshop customers in the region more quickly and flexibly.
When it reaches planned capacity in 2015, the new plant will be able to produce some 125 million spark plugs per year to Bosch’s high quality standards. Annual production capacity for brake pads will be 80 million units, while some 25,000 testing systems also will be produced each year for workshops in the region. State-of-the-art manufacturing techniques and Bosch’s production processes will ensure that product quality at the new plant is just as high as at all the group’s other production facilities around the world.
More than 2,000 people are already working at the Nanjing plant, and the workforce is set to total some 3,500 Bosch associates by 2015. In addition, the new research and development center will feature a team of more than 100 engineers working to develop safe, efficient and practical solutions for Bosch’s workshop customers in the Asia Pacific.
