Bosch to set up 2 RP divisions

German-based firm Robert Bosch Inc. will set up two divisions in the country as it hopes to receive part of the 2 billion euros earmarked for investments in the Asia Pacific region.

“Bosch is growing very fast and the Philippines is expected to be a part of that,” Roland Odenthal, managing director of Bosch said.

According to Odenthal, although Bosch will not put up a manufacturing facility in the Philippines, the firm is expected to increase the number of its local employees.

Odenthal reasoned that Bosch is planning to build manufacturing plants in countries with big automotive manufacturing facilities like Indonesia and Thailand.

“If situation changes, then it (building a manufacturing plant here) might be a possibility,” Odenthal explained further.

Odenthal expects the company to grow by 20 percent this year given the strong domestic market.

Last year, the company grew 20 percent given the country’s booming car industry and countrywide infrastructure development.

“These positive developments and the strong performance of the peso keeps Robert Bosch Inc. within the horizon of its projected long term growth strategy,” Odenthal said.

The company’s local business lines in the automotive and power tools technology are both leaders in their respective product segments.

Automotive makes up 60 to 65 percent of Bosch’s revenue. The remaining are divided between power tools and car multi media.