Frankfurt/Lohr am Main, Germany —Bosch Rexroth AG announced a 12.6% increase in 2005 sales over the prior year—to just under€ 4.6 billion—at its annual Press Conference in Frankfurt on March 22, 2006. This is the third successive reporting period of rising sales for the company (which is part of the Bosch Group) and follows results of 2004, when for the first time, it exceeded the € 4 billion level in sales (
CE Daily News, Feb. 14, 2005
). Under the brand name of Rexroth, the company is a worldwide leader in automation, offering electric drives and controls, hydraulics, pneumatics, and linear and motion technology.
Growth rate over last year was particularly strong in America (23%), followed by Asia (18%), and considerably increased market shares in these regions, emphasized Manfred Grundke, president of the Executive Board of Bosch Rexroth AG. “A large number of machine construction companies have relocated part of their production to Asia and Central and Eastern Europe,” stated Grundke, demonstrating a long-term trend.
New jobs, rapid innovation
In 2005, the company spent a total of€ 259 million in capital investments. “The intelligent combination of production and development capacities in Germany and in the most important markets of the triad is a fundamental success criterion for Bosch Rexroth”, said Grundke. Number of employees worldwide increased in 2005to 28,257. This includes an addition of around 170 employees in Germany, which brings the current count there to 15,358.
As for investments in 2005, Bosch Rexroth plowed€ 193 million into R&D. “We are working not only on application-oriented solutions that our customers can implement directly in series production, but also on new technologies to enable us to extend current technological boundaries”, he explained. To achieve this, Bosch Rexroth is combining systematic development processes with its high level of application know-how worldwide.
| Since 2002, Bosch Rexroth sales have grown by more than€ 900 million”—Manfred Grundke, president of the Executive Board. |
Positive for 2006
Bosch Rexroth anticipates further sales growth in 2006, though the economic scene for machine builders worldwide is expected to slow down. Orders booked in the first two months of 2006 have exceeded comparable figures for the preceding year. Describing the outlook for the current fiscal year, “Bosch Rexroth is prepared for the challenges of a globalized economy. With innovative products, know-how and our worldwide position, we want to sustain our growth in 2006,” concluded Grundke.
Edited by Frank J. Bartos , executive editor
