Bosch Power Tools

Power Tool manufacturer in England, UK
The Power Tools Division of the Bosch Group is the world market leader for power tools and power tool accessories. In 2012, its workforce generated sales of 4.0 billion euros, 90 percent of which outside of Germany. With brands such as Bosch, Skil and Dremel, the division stands for customer focus and great engineering progress. The core success factors are innovative strength and pace of innovation. Each year, Bosch Power Tools launches more than 100 new products onto the market. The division generated about 40 percent of its sales in 2012 with products that have been on the market for less than two years. The business segments electric power tools, accessories, measuring tools and garden tools of Bosch Power Tools outperformed the market.

The Bosch Power Tools Division grew considerably over the past year although some core markets noticeably lost momentum. With a sales increase of six percent, the manufacturer of power tools reached the four billion euros mark for the first time. The size of the workforce remained at the same level as the previous year, with 19,000 associates at 37 locations. In 2012, the overall market grew by four percent to 24.5 billion euros. The power tools and accessories submarkets grew at similar rates. “Our growth of six percent clearly shows that we have again succeeded in winning market shares”, explained Henning von Boxberg, president of Bosch Power Tools. The division wants to continue this trend in 2013: “We expect to increase sales at a similar rate again this year”, said Mr. von Boxberg during the annual Bosch Power Tools press conference.

The division performed especially well in Asia, where the overall market fell significantly short of the industry’s expectations. This was mainly due to the effect of the economic slowdown in China. “Considering a market growth of only four percent in Asia, it is especially remarkable that we were able to increase our sales in the Asia-Pacific region by 16 percent”, emphasized Mr. von Boxberg. This success is based in particular on the launch of products that are specifically tailored to the needs of professional tradespeople in emerging markets such as China, India and the ASEAN countries – while taking into account the spending power in these markets. In addition to this, Bosch opened the new Chengdu production location in the Pujiang County (China) at the end of 2012. Power tools for the Chinese market will be produced at this location in future. With a growth of twelve percent, the division also performed pleasingly in North America. Market growth in this region was six percent. One of the reasons for the positive sales development is the great market success of the Measuring Tools business unit. Bosch Power Tools managed to grow by three percent on the stagnating European main market, therefore also strengthening its own position in this difficult environment. Overall, the company generates about 90 percent of its sales outside of Germany.