Batteries included

It seems ever since the Dawn of Power Tools (somewhere back in the 1940s), man has found himself tethered to snaky AC power cords. Along with the power that came with electric saws, drill hammers and the like also came the tangled black plug: the bane of many a handyman.

Bosch, the German brand familiar around the world for its car parts and power tools, changed the game back in 2000 with its lithium ion battery technology, allowing man to finally go cordless, backed by serious power. By 2003, cordless drills and hammers were no longer tiny, battery-powered toys: they could bore through wood, metal, even concrete.

Which brings us to today, where Bosch is making power tools the backbone of its Asian sales strategy. To put it in perspective, says Dr. Klaus Thunig, VP of Bosch Power Tools Asia Pacific, “Just imagine one Bosch power tool being purchased every second of every day, all over the world.” That’s 32 million tools per year, and a growing percentage of those tools are now being bought — and made — in the Asia-Pacific. With manufacturing sites in Penang, Malaysia, Bangalore, India and Hangzhou, China, Bosch is seeing four percent growth in Asia this year, despite the global economic woes of ’08 and ’09 (sales dropped 15 percent worldwide and six percent in Asia, but are now back on track.) And the biggest growth segment? Cordless power tools.

We recently had a display of that cordless power in Shanghai, where, across town from the World Expo, Bosch was holding its first “Cordless Race” Competition at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum — inviting students from eight Chinese universities to design and race their own go-karts. Oh, and each of those go-karts was powered by a rack of fully charged Bosch GSR ProDrive cordless screwdrivers.

While not exactly tearing up the track at Formula One speeds (the karts averaged about 30 kph), the race was meant to showcase design and engineering among Asian students. Bosch gave the eight teams two months and about ¥30,000 to come up with their karts. Cheerleaders danced and champagne flowed for the winners, who shared a ¥10,000 prize and received sets of Bosch power tools.

But since it was lithium-ion batteries powering the cars, it’s not hard for one to make the eco-leap: Is Bosch planning to power the green cars of the future? No one in the Power Tools division wanted to comment on this, but a Bosch-Samsung joint venture recently announced it would supply VW and BMW with hybrid batteries for electric cars. And much of the company’s recent innovation has been in the area of smaller batteries with fewer (40 percent less) carbon emissions than nickel cadmium versions. In the future, it might not be a tiger in our tank, but a Bosch Li-Ion battery.

Dr. Thunig again: “The secret is energy density. Watt for watt, lithium-ion batteries weigh up to 40 percent less than conventional cells of the same power. When you package that in a power tool, the immediate result is a lighter device, longer run times and less operator fatigue.”

This last item — operator fatigue — is one reason Bosch’s cordless power tools are such a hit in Asia. Notes Dr. Falk Herrmann, VP of Engineering for Bosch Power Tools Asia Pacific: “People are typically a little slimmer and lighter (in Asia), so they need tools to apply a lot of torque without overtaxing the person. A typical American or European user can hold a big tool, but with an impact driver (such as the new GDR 10.8-LI Professional), you can apply a lot of torque without holding the torque with your hand.”

Asian users tend to need power tools that are small, versatile and able to work with various materials. Bosch’s cordless miter saw, for instance, was a big hit because it can cut through aluminum as easily as wood, a big consideration for lots of Asian construction sites.

The lithium-ion cells are also immune to the so-called “memory” effect of other battery technologies: after a year of irregular charging and discharging cycles, the average nickel cadmium battery loses as much as 30 percent capacity. A lithium-ion battery still delivers 100 percent after each charge.

This is clearly a factor in our (somewhat more) eco-conscious world these days. I asked the Bosch executives in Shanghai if they could lower the Li-Ion battery carbon emissions even further. “The efficiency of li-ion technology is still improving,” said Dr. Thunig. “You will see improvements in coming years.”

“It is certainly possible to reduce carbon emissions more,” adds Dr, Falk. “Battery technology does not stand still, so I believe overall it will make further advancements in next 10 years or so. We are working to bring those advancements to our power tools as well.”

But — let’s face it — the real shift to cordless power tools has to be because of ease of use. Anyone who’s ever had his or her arm or leg tangled in a black power plug knows how annoying — and dangerous — those cords can be. So going cordless is like rock stars suddenly shifting to radio microphones and cordless guitars, free to roam the stage. “It’s mostly about flexibility and mobility,” agrees Dr. Falk. “If you are not tethered, it makes your work so much more convenient.”

Sure enough, I was unabashedly thrilled to take the ProDrive 3.6 volt cordless screwdriver out of its case for a spin. It felt like Christmas. The Bosch tool comes fully charged, right out of the box. (Does this ever happen with battery-powered devices?) I was unaccountably pleased by little features: the LED lights lighting up the drilling surface when you squeeze the trigger; the magnetic drill bit holder, which makes changing bits so much easier (no more turnkey adjustments). Such a tool!

Robert Bosch GmbH, the company, was formed back in 1886. In fact, it recently celebrated its 100th anniversary of doing business in China. So Asia is not exactly new territory for Bosch. You’d think the housing construction market — hit by the global recession — would still be limping along, requiring fewer power tools. But, despite 2008 and 2009 being, according to Bosch, “the challenge years,” things are really picking up. “Actually, I would say right now, we are in the strongest decade of growth in Asia,” says Falk. “The Asian market is the global growth engine in the next years. So we are right there.”

Being a privately owned company, Bosch can devote a sizeable portion of its budget — eight percent — to research and development. Holding some 3,800 patents, innovation has been key to Bosch staying ahead, even avoiding the piracy and copycatting rampant in China. Says Thunig: “You can’t protect yourself forever. The main recipe for success is to always be one step ahead, with new innovations always on the market.” In fact, an astounding 37 percent of Bosch’s sales today come from products introduced just within the past two years. A lot of these are power tools, and many are focused on the Asian market.

But in the Philippines, where worksite environments can vary from sophisticated machinery to men bending steel rods by hand, you have to wonder how Bosch will expand its market share.

“By having a large offering of tools,” says Falk. “In developing Asian markets, we see a big need not only for sophisticated tools with very advanced features, we also see a potential for simpler tools that are very robust, easy to use and durable.” He notes the Philippines, like most Asian countries, uses a lot of wood in its construction, so wood saws, power hammers and cordless tools are “quite relevant.”

“We believe that we have room to improve our market share quite a bit in the Philippines. And we are optimistic that we will do so.”

And who knows? They might end up building eco-cars here some day as well.