Today the company Robert Bosch GMBH is known all over the world for its high-quality, reliable and innovative products. The concern has more than 400 representative offices and consistently occupies high positions in the market.
Many people know that the company bears the name of its founder - the German engineer and inventor Robert Bosch. But few people know how he managed to turn a small engineering workshop in Stuttgart into a global business. This is exactly what the Master's birthday is all about.
Robert Bosch was born exactly 160 years ago - on September 23, 1861 in the lands of Southern Germany - the town of Albeck on the banks of the Danube. His family was of simple origin, but well educated for its environment.
After finishing school, Robert (the 11th of 12 children in the family) went to work as a master's assistant. Subsequently, he served in the engineering battalion and attended lectures at the Stuttgart Technical University.
In November 1886, Bosch opened his own firm in Stuttgart called the "Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering". This became the starting point of the future Robert Bosch Inc. The way of establishing the company was not easy. Periodically, Bosch and his craftsmen were forced to take non-core and low-paying orders (for example, telephone systems and electric doorbells), and invest most of the profit in equipment.
"I have always acted according to the principle - it is better to lose money than trust. The integrity of my promises, faith in the quality of my goods and in my word have always been more important to me than momentary profit.", said the founder of the company.
The following year, the first technological breakthrough took place - the development of a commercially successful ignition device for a gas engine from a magneto. A magneto is an alternating current generator that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. The company improved this device so much that already in 1890 it accounted for almost half of the sales volume.
Further improvement and adaptation helped Robert Bosch's team to solve one of the main problems in the development of automotive technology - ignition for high-speed internal combustion engines. This was the beginning of the commercial success of the "Workshop".
In 1901, there was no longer enough space rented for production. However, issues of product quality, as well as the trust of customers and partners, have always been a priority for Robert Bosch. Conscious adherence to these principles and the desire for development served as powerful motivators - Robert built his first Bosch plant.
In 1902, Robert Bosch's student Gottlob Honnold invented a high-voltage magneto ignition system. This made the device universal. At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, after establishing strong positions in the German market, the company began to enter new markets - Great Britain, then France and other European countries.
In 1906, magneto car engines were advertised in the USA, which caused a significant increase in orders. Therefore, in 1910, Robert built the first Bosch factory in the USA (in Springfield, Massachusetts), and a few years later, the second - in the state of New York. Representative offices were opened all over the world - in South America, Asia, Africa and Australia. Already in 1913, 88% of the company's products were sold abroad.
Thus, Robert Bosch became one of the pioneers of the European industrial revolution. His inventions became a breakthrough in the automotive industry and industrial development of his time. And his attitude towards people is a revolution in corporate relations. Bosch was the first in Europe to introduce an 8-hour working day and conveyor production at its enterprises.
"I pay decent wages not because I have a lot of money. I have a lot of money precisely because I pay decent wages." - this saying of Robert was repeatedly confirmed in the future and became a kind of motto of responsible employers.
In addition to the electric magneto, the legendary inventions of the Bosch company are also: diesel pump, electric starter, car headlight, car siren, mechanical brake, windshield wiper, fuel filter, car radio and many others.
His motto "Better to lose money than trust" which at first glance could lead to losses, eventually became the basis of a business built on quality, honesty and respect for the customer.
Robert Bosch was also actively involved in charity, although he did not particularly advertise it. Among the most famous projects are a donation of a million German marks to the Stuttgart Technical University (1910), membership in the American union "Knights of Labor", which advocated the rights of workers in labor professions, the opening of a hospital built with his money (1940).
During the First World War, Robert Bosch sent almost all the profits to charity, it was millions of German marks.
In 1921, he founded his own charitable foundation. In his will (1937), Bosch directed that all profits from stock dividends be directed there Robert Bosch GMBH.
In the 1960s, Robert's descendants transferred their fortunes to Robert Bosch GMBH charity fund. Currently, the fund owns 92% of the shares of the entire concern.
"I can't bear the thought that someone, when checking my products, could expose me to the production of low-quality goods." - said Robert Bosch all his life. After his death, this saying became the company's philosophy. All factories and plants Robert Bosch GMBH always work according to the strictest quality standards.
Robert's words about people became another catchphrase in the company: "Never forget humanity and respect human dignity in relationships with people."
The story of Robert Bosch, who lived a long and interesting life, created a world-class company and forever inscribed his name in the history of the development of the automotive industry - a vivid example of a person who, with his attitude to knowledge, technical experiments and employees, built a global socially responsible business. A business that has existed for 135 years and is still guided by the principles of the Great Founder.
