The Bosch company, a leading global supplier of technology and services, ended the 2022 fiscal year with consolidated sales of 80 million euros in Serbia, which recorded a strong growth of 21 percent compared to the previous year.
Total net sales, including sales of non-consolidated companies and internal deliveries to related companies, amounted to 395 million euros, which compared to the previous year represents an increase of 41 percent.
The significant growth of the Bosch Group in Serbia is also reflected in the increase in the number of employees, which as of December 31, 2022 amounted to approximately 3,400 colleagues – an increase of approximately 34 percent compared to the previous year. “Our growth in the previous year highlights the potential of Serbia as a location for the future operations of the Bosch company,” said Jovanka Jovanović, general manager and representative of the Bosch Group in Serbia. In order to enable further growth, Bosch invested more than 27 million euros in 2022, and Jovanović adds that based on the results of the first quarter of 2023, he expects even better results for the current business year.
The factory In Pećinci celebrates its tenth anniversary this year
Thanks to the production of auto parts at the factory in Pećinci, Bosch has been among the largest exporters in Serbia for years, and in 2022 it took 9th place on this list.
This year, the company marks 10 years since the opening of the factory in Serbia, which represents one of the largest Bosch plants for the production of wiper systems in Europe. In the meantime, two more new facilities were opened, so that the company currently has 80,000 square meters that support the production and development of wiper systems, wiper blades and wiper motors, as well as window lifters. “Since the start of production in 2013, our facility in Pećinci has been continuously growing. This confirms the constant development of the factory and the expansion of its production portfolio of auto parts,” said Jorg Krečmar, director of the Bosch factory in Pećinci.
Continuous growth and development of the IT sector in Belgrade continues
In 2015, Bosch in Serbia began intensively developing in the IT industry, through projects related to digitalization and software development in the automotive industry, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analysis, e-commerce development, etc. Today, more than 400 IT professionals and experts work on projects that have a global impact, and Belgrade is one of the four European and nine worldwide key IT locations of the Bosch Digital division. The number of people working in IT positions is expected to grow this year as well.
The flexible work model, whichh the company continues to nurture, and which has been a part of Bosch’s business for years, also makes a big contribution to this. As part of the “Smart Work” initiative, Bosch does not define fixed days for working in the office or from home – the focus is on work results, not on attendance itself. “The Bosch Smart Work concept has shown excellent results both at the global and local level, which gives us the opportunity to employ experts outside of Belgrade,” said Jovanović.
“This concept is a reflection of the autonomy and trust that we as a company have in our associates. “Smart Work” offers an excellent balance between family, personal life and career. This is extremely important for each of us and something that Bosch wants to work on continuously,” added Jovanović.
The portfolio of Bosch products on the Serbian market is expanding
In Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia, Bosch is also present in large infrastructure projects for the construction of roads and railways, in factories, hotel complexes and shopping centers. The company also holds a significant market share in automotive spare parts, as well as consumer goods such as power tools, home appliances and heating and cooling equipment.
Bosch further strengthens its socially responsible business activities
With more than 400 locations worldwide, Bosch has been climate neutral since February 2020 (scope 1 and 2). In Serbia, the entire amount of electricity used by the company at both locations comes from renewable sources. The company continues to reduce energy consumption through the implementation of energy efficiency projects.
In addition, in 2022, Bosch in Serbia provided support to the local community through numerous humanitarian activities organized in cooperation with employees, as well as through financial and goods donations intended for various institutions and organizations with the aim of improving the position of children, health, education and ecology.
Bosch Group: outlook for 2023 and strategic course
The fight against climate change causes significant upheavals in business and society, and also accelerates technological changes. “This technological transformation opens up opportunities for growth that we want to take advantage of.” In this context, our ‘Technology for Life’ ethos is ideal – not only when it comes to the main trends of electrification, automation and digitalisation, but more than ever also in terms of software and artificial intelligence,” said Hartung.
Bosch is responding to the trend of software-based automotive engineering by realigning its automotive supply business: within Robert Bosch GmbH, Bosch Mobility will in future be run as a separate business sector responsible for its own operations and with its own leadership team. The goal is to be able to meet existing and future customer needs even better and faster with customized solutions from a single source. The chairman of Bosch announced that the newly restructured mobility business will grow annually by an average of about 6 percent until 2029, when it will achieve annual sales of more than 80 billion euros.
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