Corporate Research

Mr. Dieterich, Mr. Felten, research is a fascinating subject. What do you find most exciting about it?

Dieterich: We use research to shape the future. Research is the basis for innovations that we can use to improve people’s quality of life. At Bosch this has long been a tradition: In accordance with the guiding principle “Safe – Clean – Economical “ we have contributed substantially to the reduction of accidents as well as emissions. For example, we’ve reduced the pollutant emissions of both gasoline and diesel engines by more than 90 percent compared to the 1970s. And technologies such as ABS and ESP have significantly improved road safety.

Felten: Another thing that’s exciting about research is its challenge: Bosch stands for the ultimate in quality, reliability and durability. That’s evident in our extremely high quality and technology standards. And it challenges our employees to strive for exceptionally creative achievements. What makes our work really exciting is that we get to watch our ideas turn into successful and useful products. This combination only exists in industrial research.

Why is research so important to Bosch?

Felten: It’s the foundation of our future business, especially in the technologically challenging areas in which Bosch is active. You can’t do that with the well-worn approach of just making a component with a bit more mechanical strength. We’ve got to understand physical principles, develop new design methods, use simulations to validate ideas, and then implement all of this in manufacturing for large-scale production.

In our research projects we’re looking beyond what’s feasible now – even if the risk is high, provided the facts look promising. Sometimes the results of our research cause us to radically change an engineering approach before we go to market with the product. Of course that takes time and money, but the long term benefit is that our products are competitive.

Dieterich: The development departments in our divisions work on existing product lines. Corporate Research is responsible for safeguarding our company’s future over the long term by exploiting new technologies. A case in point is direct injection for gasoline engines: That subject has been keeping us busy in research for years. We started looking into it way back in the early 1980s. In the mid-1990s, this research was transferred to our Gasoline Systems division, and large-scale production began in 2000. If you pay close attention to what automakers are saying in their announcements nowadays, you can conclude that direct injection will be more widely used in future gasoline engines. Engine designers are increasingly aware of its advantages regarding torque and fuel consumption. So if you hear us talking about “taking a long-term perspective”, this means that 10, 15 or more years may pass before an innovation based on new technologies succeeds in the market.

About seven percent of Bosch’s sales volume is reinvested in research and development. But these investments in themselves are no guarantee of sparkling ideas or innovations. So where do those originate?

Felten: Well, let’s start with a very important point: We need creative heads in research, and we need the best. So what are we doing about it? We provide an environment in which these people can work creatively – with freedom of action, advanced educational opportunities, and superb equipment. As managers of research we have to make sure that the necessary funds are always available. But it takes more than money: Research must also be steered in the right direction, for instance by effective innovation management.

Dieterich: The direction is defined, first of all, by the scientific environment. Bosch maintains very active contacts with universities and institutions such as the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. We’re involved in about 100 cooperative research partnerships.
But the markets too are important drivers of our research. So we interact very closely with our divisions. I think it’s extremely useful for our employees to get some hands-on business experience. With that kind of closeness to our markets we can focus our ideas even more accurately on potential customer benefits and on products that deliver them, to ensure they’ll be successful innovations.

What are you doing to attract creative talent and develop new generations of scientists and engineers?

Felten: The past few years have shown that we’re rated very highly by new graduates in the natural sciences and engineering. Last year for instance Bosch was ranked number 6 among German employers by engineers in a survey conducted by Wirtschaftswoche. Then there are the cooperative research partnerships with universities and institutes, on which we base our program for graduate students working on their doctorate. One in two of our employees is currently looking after a student at the pre-doctorate or some other academic level. I’d say that’s a very respectable record. Between one-third and one-half of our new employees are recruited from this source. In a nutshell: Engineers and scientists increasingly consider Bosch a very desirable company to work for.

Dieterich: Then, too, we’ve got a lot to offer when it comes to research subjects. Take microsystems technology. This has ultimately revolutionized the way sensors are made today. Bosch has made a decisive contribution to progress in this technology...

...and no lecture or presentation about this technology is complete without a picture of the Bosch Angular Rate Sensor.

Dieterich: ... That's right. That product evolved right here, driven by the linkage between research and the operating division. Bosch develops best-of-class technologies! And I’m not just talking about high-tech products with outstanding customer benefits, but also about their high-precision manufacture – at production quantities in the millions. And I believe such achievements are just the right challenge to make young people want to start their career with us.

Felten: ... And our students@bosch program helps us arouse the interest of trainees and master’s degree students early on. Now when I say that we wind up hiring 80 percent of our doctoral students I don’t mean that they all go into research. Many of them enter other Bosch divisions. In a company of our size they have many successive job opportunities early in their career without having to change employers several times.

Dieterich: That’s a very good point. I’d also relate that to our international scope. We have a research facility at Palo Alto in Silicon Valley, as well as other such units in Pittsburgh, Shanghai and Tokyo. Our employees also have various other opportunities to develop international networks within our company. And that certainly also appeals to young graduates in the top tier of their class who are looking for a challenging entry position – women as well as men.

Finally let’s go to a few highlights in your personal backgrounds. You’ve both had a chance to acquire diversified experience after you graduated: in research, in divisions, abroad, and back to research again. What did you enjoy most?

Felten: Right now I’m vastly enjoying the opportunity of mining my treasure trove of more than 15 years of hands-on experience in our operational business. I believe I’ve gained a very comprehensive vision of what successful research must look like. In my previous assignment as Head of Development at Bosch Power Tools I launched the development of rechargeable battery technology for cordless tools. That work led to the development of the our successful Ixo cordless screwdriver using lithium ion technology. And now I’m in a position to encourage and direct the creativity of our large staff of researchers in our continuing quest for launching something new. Something profitable for our company that also lives up to our motto: “Intelligent technology for modern living“.

Dieterich: All my assignments at Bosch to this day have both challenged and inspired me. That’s just as true in my efforts to optimize the production yield of a pressure sensor in our Reutlingen plant, right after my trainee period, as for the first production launch of the Controller Area Network (CAN for short), our electronic bus system. Particularly as project manager for the production launch of the CAN bus early in the 1990s for the Mercedes S-Class of that period I gained an abundance of experience in ensuring quality for a new technology in the automobile business. That body of experience is more vital today than ever. Because quality is the “admission ticket” to doing business with our customers. This criterion is equally important in research. Especially in the early phases of product development it is vital to identify functionally critical parts, and to analyze and design them to withstand harsh usage in a worldwide environment. Only if we achieve this despite the continually growing complexity of our products can we remain globally competitive.