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80 years of Bosch Power Tools
Trendsetting innovations for DIY enthusiasts, gardening enthusiasts, professional tradesmen and industry - Market launch of first handheld power tools with electric motor in the handle in 1928 - Increase in the pace of innovation to 100 new products per year - Pioneer of power tools such as rotary hammer, jigsaw or lithium-ion battery technology When Bosch presented the "Forfex" hair clipper with an electric motor in the handle in 1928, thereby defining the design principle of power tools, it was the beginning of a success story. In 2008 there are more than 16,000 Bosch associates all over the world who develop, manufacture and sell more than 32 million power tools every year. Every second a user chooses a power tool from the Bosch, Skil or Dremel brands at a specialist retail outlet or hardware store. The exemplary power of innovation, which has been a feature of Bosch from the very beginning, continues to be upheld to this day. Bosch Power Tools launches approximately 100 new products onto the market year after year. Around 40 percent of turnover is now achieved with products launched onto the market less than 24 months beforehand. "We are not resting on our laurels, instead we are continuing to increase our pace of innovation", says the President of the Bosch Power Tool Division, Uwe Raschke. Nowadays, there is especially high demand for power tools with lithium-ion battery technology, of which Bosch was the pioneer and is the world leader: Li-Ion cordless rotary hammers in the 36-volt class are equally as powerful as the most powerful corded 2kg rotary hammers. Bosch has now manufactured more than six million Ixo cordless screwdrivers all over the world. This makes the Ixo the best-selling power tool in the world. And Bosch was also the first to offer a full range of lithium-ion tools for the garden: it ranges from the lawnmower Rotak LI tocordless trimmers and hedgecutters through to the Isio, the lightest grass and shrub shear in the world. Uwe Raschke says: "Successful product development at this pace of innovation is no coincidence, it is the result of consistent process improvement from the development of ideas through to market launch." Successfully making use of business opportunities is a tradition at Bosch. A recent example is the development of bench-mounted power tools. In a very short space of time, the pioneer of handheld power tools launched a complete series of benchtop tools for professionals and for DIY enthusiasts onto the market. The sale of measuring tools with the three categories "laser rangefinders", "detection tools" and "laser leveling" has also been a resounding success. The digital Laser Rangefinder DLE 50 is the world's smallest laser rangefinder and the ideal tool for professionals who want to measure lengths, areas or volumes, especially indoors. Bosch became the market leader in this product segment in hardware stores in its year of entry. And more: with entry by Bosch, the category of measuring tools became a new product group alongside power tools, bench-mounted tools, or hand tools. This is how Bosch continually developed from producing a hair clipper with a motor in the handle to being the world market leader in handheld power tools and accessories. The development of the rotary hammer is inextricably linked with the name "Bosch". As early as 1932, the company had launched the first electrically operated rotary hammer onto the market. Bosch has continuously developed the "Bosch Hammer" further – for example with the SDS-plus toolholder system presented in 1975 for tool-free drill bit and chisel changes, in 1981 with the world's first 2kg rotary hammer, in 1984 with the world's first cordless hammer, in 2003 with the first vibration control in a 5kg hammer, or in 2005 with the world's first cordless hammer with lithium-ion technology. In 2007, Bosch launched the new 16kg demolition hammer GSH 16 Professional onto the market, which surpasses all previous standards in performance, vibration protection and lifetime in its class. Another success story began in 1944 with the developing of the jigsaw. While designing a coping saw, engineers at Scintilla AG in Switzerland, which is now a subsidiary of Bosch, realized that it would be very advantageous if the saw blade could be held at one end instead of at both ends – like the needle in a sewing machine. Hence the first jigsaw and the first jigsaw blade were produced in Switzerland, where this story of innovation continues to this day. In 2007, the 4-billionth saw blade was produced at the plant in St. Niklaus (Switzerland) – if you were to lay all of those saw blades end to end, they would reach from the Earth to the Moon. The headquarters of the Bosch Accessories product division, which is the world leader with more than 8,000 different articles, is located in Solothurn in Switzerland. Robert Bosch Limited Ms. Yuparat Laotanapat Corporate Communications Manager Tel. 02 – 631 1879 ext. 160 ; Mobile 081 – 845 1596 E-mail : Yuparat.Laotanapat@th.bosch.com Current News |
