Robert Bosch completed his apprenticeship as a precision instrument maker with Wilhelm Maier Ulm between 1876 and 1879, and spent a year in the US working for Sigmund Bergmann and Thomas Alva Edison.
On his return to Europe in 1885 he spent time in London, where he worked for the Siemmens brothers.
In November 1886, Bosch opened his own workshop in Stuttgart, the Werkstätte für Feinmechanik und Elektrotechnik, in which Low-Voltage Magneto spark plugs for stationary gas engines and a desk phone were manufactured.
In 1898 he opened the Compagnie des Magnétos Simas-Bosch subsidiary in London, and a year later established sales offices in Paris and Budapest.
In 1901, Robert Bosch moved to his first factory, located on the site of the company’s current premises.
In 1902 he launched the Magneto high-voltage spark plug, for which he commissioned graphic designer Lucian Bernhard to create eye-catching packaging and billboards, which helped create the company’s powerful brand identity.
In 1909 another factory was built in Feuerbach to increase production.
In subsequent years the company expanded its product line with various automotive innovations, including headlights, the first electric starter motor, car horns, the first electric windshield wipers and the first standard diesel injection pump for trucks.
In 1932 Bosch acquired Idealwerke AG and manufactured televisions and radios under the Blaupunkt name.
During the 1930s he continued with the research and development of new products, thus in 1932, he introduced the first standard injection pump for automobiles.
Throughout the same decade, the company also began manufacturing white goods, and in 1933 it introduced its first refrigerator.
Bosch expanded and opened subsidiaries and numerous plants abroad, launching innovations such as the first injection system for cars, the first automatic dishwasher, the first electric injection system for cars, and the ABS anti-lock braking system.
Renowned for its white goods and power tool appliances, created by German industrial designer Hans Eroch Slany, the Bosch group is today one of the most important companies in Germany.
Its scientists, engineers, designers and technicians are dedicated to perfecting the function and reliability of current products and developing new objects and systems in all its operational areas, including automotive electrical and electronic equipment, private and public communications technology, tools. mechanical, electrical appliances and thermo technology, as well as automotive technology and packaging machinery.