Robert Bosch GmbH is a German diversified technology-based corporation which was started in 1886 by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart, Germany.
Robert Bosch GmbH is the world's largest supplier of automobile components, and has business relationships with virtually every automobile company in the world. The headquarters of Bosch is in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart. Franz Fehrenbach became chairman on 1 July 2003. The Bosch Group comprises more than 275 subsidiary companies.
Consumer goods and power tools
Bosch caters to the areas of consumer goods and building technology with its power tool, thermotechnology, and security systems, as well as with its household appliances business within the BSH Bosch and Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH joint venture. In the US, power tools are provided by the Robert Bosch Tool Corporation based in Mt. Prospect, Illinois.
With its brands Bosch, Hawera, Skil, Dremel and RotoZip, Bosch manufactures power tools for the building trade, industry, and do-it-yourself-ers (DIY-ers). The product range also includes accessories such as drill bits and saw blades, under its Vermont American brand, as well as gardening appliances under its Gilmour brand.
Bosch is the largest European manufacturer of thermotechnology (heating units, etc.) with its subsidiary BBT Thermotechnik GmbH. It had revenues of €2.8 billion in 2006. Its brands include Bosch, Buderus, Junkers, Dakon, e.l.m leblanc S.A., FHP Manufacturing, Geminox, IVT, Nefit, Sieger, Vulcano and Worcester.
BSH Bosch and Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH, in which Bosch and Siemens AG each hold a 50% share, is one of the world's top three companies in the household appliances industry. In Germany and Western Europe, BSH is the market leader. Its portfolio includes the principal brand names Bosch and Siemens, Gaggenau, Neff, Thermador, Constructa, Viva, and ufesa brands, and further six regional brands. Bosch household appliances for the North American market are mainly manufactured at its factory near New Bern, NC. Its competitors include Viking Range, Fulgor, Sub-Zero Refrigerator, Wolf Appliance (a division of Sub-Zero Refrigerator), Fagor, Dacor, and Miele.
