WGCIT SPONSOR The Bosch Group Building Technology with a Purpose
By Chardae Heim T he Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology (WGCIT) was established to identify industry concerns and accelerate the production of technology to address these concerns. The Bosch Group designs smart agriculture products to help growers lower their costs and increase productivity. The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 400,000 associates worldwide. In 2019, the company generated sales of 77.7 billion euros. As a leading Internet of Things (IoT) company, Bosch offers innovative solutions for smart homes, smart cities, connected mobility, and connected industry. It uses its expertise in sensor technology, software, and services, as well as its own IoT cloud, to offer its customers connected, cross-domain solutions from a single source. The Bosch Group’s strategic objective is to create solutions for a connected life and to improve the quality of life worldwide with products and services that are innovative and spark enthusiasm. In short, the company builds technology that is “Invented for Life.” The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 440 subsidiaries and regional companies in 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Bosch’s global manufacturing, engineering, and sales network cover nearly every country in the world. The basis for the company’s future growth is its innovative strength. At 126 locations across the globe, Bosch employs 72,600 associates in research and development. Having established a regional presence in 1906 in North America, the firm employs 34,600 associates in more than 100 locations, as of the end of 2019. In 2019, Bosch generated
consolidated sales of $14.4 billion in the region. Recently, Western Grower & Shipper spoke to the company about its innovative operations. WG&S: Is there a story behind the creation of this company? In 1886, Robert Bosch founded the “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering” in Stuttgart, which marked the birth of today’s globally operating company. Right from the start, it was characterized by innovative strength and social commitment. Also, the following words from Robert Bosch reveal his affinity with agriculture, which is hardly surprising considering his parents ran an inn with livestock farming and a brewery near Ulm: “Agriculture in itself is one of the most interesting lines of business there is. It is more varied than virtually any other field, for it has to do with zoology, botany, geology, chemistry, and meteorology in their widest sense.” WG&S: Can you explain what your technologies are? What problems are they solving? Bosch products are built with a purpose; to enhance the quality of life through innovative technological solutions. Operating across four business sectors—Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology—Bosch is uniquely positioned to offer customers a multitude of value-add, cross-sector solutions across a diversity of industry applications. In addition to providing outstanding products, Bosch utilizes expertise in sensor technology, systems integration, software, and services, as well as its own IoT cloud, to offer each customer connected, cross-domain solutions from a single source. The core of Bosch’s offering is innovative solutions that facilitate new mobility offerings. Whether for private or commercial vehicles, multimodal transportation services, fleet management, or smart transport infrastructure, Bosch brings together vehicle technology, the data cloud, and services to offer complete mobility solutions. WG&S: While Bosch works with numerous industries, how does the technology you created benefit the agriculture industry? Bosch has domain expertise in a wide range of industries and manufacturing processes. From this basis, several of our products and services are directly applicable to agriculture, such as supply chain solutions, tracking and tracing devices, and I4.0 automation and consulting. As part of our mobility business, Bosch has a dedicated
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JULY | AUGUST 2020
Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
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