Bosch sales in Thailand up 10% to Bt11.9 billion last year

Bosch, a leading global supplier of technology and services, ended its 2016 fiscal year with Bt11.9 billion in consolidated sales in Thailand, recording a 10 per cent growth compared to the previous year.
Joseph Hong, managing director of Bosch in Thailand, said: “For the fourth consecutive year, Thailand is once again one of the largest revenue generating markets for Bosch in Southeast Asia, largely based on the automotive business. 
“We are upbeat about our future growth in Thailand. This is reflected in our investments in connectivity particularly in the automotive business and backed by the government’s national roadmap towards Thailand 4.0. 
“The government’s policy will support a smooth transition of our business model from a global supplier of products and services to a leading provider of connected solutions in the Internet of Things (IoT), thus enabling us to help Thailand make a difference in an increasingly competitive global economic landscape,” Hong said.
The number of associates employed at Bosch in Thailand stood at more than 1,200 as of the end of December 2016, a year-on-year increase of around eight per cent. This number is expected to further increase this year, following the company’s recent investment in a new gasoline systems plant in Rayong which is due to be completed in 2017.
The Bosch Group invested close to Bt3.9 billion (100 million euros) in Thailand in the past five years (Bt1.9 billion) 50 million euros in 2016). 
Bosch aims to maintain its market leadership position for fuel injection and is building a fuel injector factory in Thailand. It will service Thailand’s growing base of vehicle manufacturers. 
The new factory at the Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate will produce proprietary injection technology and will be furnished with connected manufacturing technologies, adopting an Industry 4.0 concept. 
The total investment in 2016 also included establishing infrastructure for R&D within the gasoline injection plant and expanding the packaging technology production lines in Chonburi.
In Asia Pacific, Bosch recorded a hefty 8.3 per cent increase in sales in 2016 to 20.8 billion euros. Bosch now generates 28 per cent of its total sales revenue in Asia Pacific compared to 27 per cent in the previous year.