Bosch announces EUR 10 mil worth of investments – Exporting from Serbia doubles in 2016

Bosch in Serbia ended the fiscal year 2015 with EUR 94.1 mil in total sales, including sales to third parties and internal deliveries to subsidiaries. Compared to last year (EUR 41.5 mil), total sales have increased by 135%, it was said today at the annual press conference of the company.

Jovanka Jovanovic, general manager of Bosch in Serbia, stated that, in 2015, they were employing around 800 people, which was twice as many as in 2014, and that they planned to end the current year with 1,300 employees.

- In 2015, we made EUR 68 mil in exporting, and based on our projections, this year the amount will double. We invested EUR 10 mil last year, and I believe we will invest as much this year – emphasized Jovanovic.

Bosch opened two new departments in Serbia in 2015 within the information and communication technologies (ICT): Mobility Media (MOME) and E-trade of electrical hand tools.

- Both these departments offer various job opportunities for Java experts who design backend services and apps for IOS/Android and for IT professionals who support e-trade projects through agile methodologies. MOME develops apps for connecting vehicles through smartphones and offers a wide array of linked services like checking and controlling a vehicle's condition and sending notices to the owner about malfunctions, in case of a traffic accident. The department for E-trade of electrical hand tools coordinates the development of internet stores for different brands throughout the world – explained Jovanovic and emphasized that the export of all services in 2015 reached EUR 2.7 mil.

Jovanovic added that Bosch planned to employ globally 14.000 graduates, IT experts above all, with Serbia being among the selected locations.

Business outlooks of the Bosch Group throughout the world for 2016

Following the record-setting 2015, Bosch wishes to continue the growth trend this year as well. The leading manufacturer and supplier of technologies and services in Serbia expect that its sales will increase from 3% to 5% in 2016. During his recent speech at the annual press conference in Germany, CEO of Bosch Volkmar Denner said:

- We are planning the growth based not only on innovative products, but on innovative services as well.

When it comes to interconnecting, the company focuses on 3S: sensors, software and services. Bosch is increasingly using an array of linked services in order to build on the solid foundation of hardware operations. In this way, the company doesn't only benefit from operations within various technologies and industries, but also from the IT operations expertise. This strategy is contributed to by the newly founded Bosch Global Service Solutions, the recently established Bosch IoT Cloud and Bosch Smart Home system, launched in early 2016.