Bosch: quick coronavirus test, safety masks and carbon neutrality

This year, the Bosch annual press conference was held online. April 29, 2020. In Stuttgart, the company’s top managers summed up the results of 2019, shared their plans for 2020 and spoke about the current situation.

Coronavirus test

• Bosch’s rapid test for COVID-19, developed in April, which determines results in 2.5 hours, is already distributed in Germany and Great Britain. Bosch intends to produce more than one million of these rapid tests in 2020, rising to three million in 2021.
• An even faster test, which can reliably detect cases of COVID-19 in less than 45 minutes, is in the final stages of development.
• Bosch will start producing face masks on specially developed, fully automated production lines in Stuttgart-Veyerbach, Germany, as well as in India and Mexico. This will enable the company to produce more than 500,000 masks a day. The masks are designed to protect Bosch employees in factories around the world.
• Bosch produces 5,000 liters of disinfectant each week in Germany and the U.S. for its employees at its American and European plants.
• After halting production at nearly 100 Bosch sites worldwide this month, the company is gradually preparing to ramp up production. “
  

  We want to ensure a reliable supply to meet the gradually returning demand of our customers, in order to contribute to a speedy economic recovery

  , – said Dr. Volkmar Denner, Chairman of the Board of Management of Robert Bosch GmbH, –

  Our goal is to synchronize production ramp-up and supply chain reliability, especially in the automotive industry. We’ve already achieved this in China, where about 40 of our local plants are back in operation and supply chains are stable. We are working hard to do the same in other regions where we are present

  “.

New products

• Bosch and its partner Powercell are already working on the commercialization of mobile fuel cell batteries for automobiles. They are scheduled to enter the market in 2022. This is how Bosch intends to successfully position itself in another growing market: as early as 2030, one in eight registered heavy-duty trucks will be able to run on fuel cells.
• Bosch is working with its partner Ceres Power to develop stationary fuel cells. They can, for example, supply power to computer centers. Bosch predicts that by 2030 Bosch will be able to produce 500,000 masks per day. The market for fuel cell power plants will reach more than 20 billion. euro.

2020: recession weighs on outlook

With the coronavirus pandemic, Bosch anticipates significant challenges for the global economy this year: “

We are preparing for a global recession, which will also have a significant impact on our own performance in 2020

.”, said Professor Stefan Asenkerschbaumer, Chief Financial Officer and Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of Bosch.

Based on the results available, Bosch currently expects that in 2020, it will be able to produce a world-class fuel cell. car production will fall by at least 20 percent. In the first quarter of this year, Bosch Group sales fell by 7.3 percent, which means they are already significantly lower year on year. In March 2020 alone. sales down 17%.

Given a number of unpredictable factors, the company is not prepared to make a forecast for the year.

“

To achieve at least a balanced result, you have to do your best

, – said the CFO. –

In this severe crisis, our diversification, working in different business sectors, has once again proved an advantage

“.

The focus is now on ambitious cost-cutting and liquidity measures.

This includes the reduction of working hours and production cuts already taking place in many locations around the world, reducing the wages of specialists and managers, including senior management, as well as increasing the period of investment.

In addition, Bosch has already launched a comprehensive program to improve its competitiveness in early 2020. “

In the medium term, our goal is to return to a 7% margin from operations, but without forgetting the critical objectives of securing our future

, – Azenkerschbaumer said –

All of our energy is focused on this and on overcoming the coronavirus pandemic. In this way, we will create the financial foundations necessary to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities that the Bosch Group

“.

Fighting climate change

Despite the challenges of the current situation, Bosch maintains its long-term strategic course: The technology and service provider continues its course to combat climate change and develops the measures needed to support the expansion of sustainable mobility.

“

Although other issues are currently in the spotlight, we should not lose sight of the challenges posed by the future of our planet

“,” Denner said.

About a year ago, Bosch announced that it would become the first global industrial company to become climate neutral in all of its 400 locations by the end of 2020.

“

We will achieve this goal

, – Denner said. –

At the end of 2019. We have achieved carbon neutrality in all of our factories and offices in Germany today, we are 70 percent of the way to achieving this worldwide

“.

To make carbon neutrality a reality, Bosch is investing in energy efficiency, increasing the share of renewables in its energy supply, buying more green electricity, and offsetting the inevitable carbon emissions.

“

The proportion of carbon offsets will be much lower than planned in 2020., and will be only 25 percent instead of nearly 50 percent. In other words, we are making faster progress than expected in improving the quality of our measures

” Denner said.