The invention that turned Bosch into an empire capable of moving 90 billion a year

It's 1901, and on one of the metal staircases leading to the brand-new Bosch factory, eight workers are grooming themselves to look good in their portraits. They are some of the technicians and engineers who developed the ignition magneto: the invention that has made this mechanical workshop in Stuttgart, Germany, a success. It's a small device, but in just a few years' life, it has revolutionized the automotive industry. When activated, it generates an electric spark capable of starting a vehicle's engine. One of the employees holds it in his hand and proudly shows it to the portraitist, who is also taking photographs of the newly inaugurated facilities that day.

These are the first firm steps for a company that, 125 years later, has generated €90.3 billion in revenue worldwide, of which €2.488 billion comes from the Spanish market. However, unlike at the beginning of the 20th century, not all of its revenue comes from selling car parts. The company has diversified: its core business remains mobility, accounting for 60% of its revenue, but it also has business units dedicated to selling automation and robotics solutions for industry, air conditioning and energy management systems for buildings, and household appliances.

Today, the factory the photographer photographed in 1901 in Stuttgart no longer exists: it was destroyed during World War II. However, the company's success remains intact on the outskirts of the city, with a new building opened in 1970 in the municipality of Gerlingen. This is the place from which the guidelines for the brand's subsidiaries and the more than 429,000 Bosch employees spread across 60 countries are issued. How did the company achieve these figures?

The eleventh of twelve children

The brand's name comes from its founder, Robert Bosch. Born on September 23, 1861, he was the eleventh child of a couple of landowners from Albeck, a town in the Swabia region of Germany. He trained at a local technical school and, between the ages of 15 and 18, specialized in precision mechanics. This opened the door to collaboration with companies like Siemens, where he finally gained ground. For one of his projects, he was commissioned to build a high-voltage magneto for a factory motor. He was given the finished design, but he improved it.

On November 15, 1886, with all the knowledge in his backpack, Bosch became an entrepreneur. That day, he raised the shutters of his own workshop in Stuttgart for the first time, with a couple of apprentices. He became obsessed with magnetos. In 1897, he began installing them in automobiles and became the sole supplier of a truly reliable ignition system. By 1900, the business had grown, and they moved the workshop to a new factory. In 1902, his chief engineer, Gottlob Honold, further refined the invention by adding a spark plug. With this tweak, Bosch was crowned the world's leading supplier to the automotive industry.

At the same time, Bosch had opened companies in other European cities, such as London and Paris, where it began producing magnets in a new plant. With its territorial expansion came increased investment in advertising. In 1903, for example, Bosch gained notoriety for having supplied the Mercedes to Belgian Camille Jenatzy, who won the Gordon Bennett Cup in Ireland.

The car explosion

When the car became a popular means of transportation, Bosch invested heavily in new products. In 1913, it introduced an electric lighting system for vehicles; in 1926, it introduced a windshield wiper, horn, and lights for motorcycles and bicycles. From that year on, Bosch applied its technology to a very diverse range of products: from razor sharpeners to radios for contemporary homes. During World War II, production was reoriented to the military sector, and employees drafted into the army were replaced by workers from forcibly occupied territories under inhumane conditions. Robert Bosch died in 1942, but he left everything firmly in place for his successors.

In the 1950s, Bosch made inroads into household appliances, such as washing machines and car radios. From the 1960s to the 1980s, the group diversified completely, forged an alliance with Siemens to enter the home market, and became a global company.