The president and senior manager of Bosch Turkey and the Middle East Steven Young has announced that the company will invest TL 650 million ($184.2 million) in Turkey this year, adding that the lion's share of this investment will go to Bursa.
Speaking to members of the press in Bursa, Young reiterated that they will continue their investments in 2017, emphasizing that the city is a very important place for Bosch.
"We can say that Bursa is our stronghold in Turkey," the electronics and engineering firm's senior manager added.
Young said that 2016 was a good year for the German-based company, adding that Bosch increased its worldwide turnover rate by 3.6 percent last year to $73.1 billion and increased its number of employees to 390,000.Pointing out that Bosch Turkey also grew last year, increasing its turnover by 14 percent to TL 12 billion ($3.4 billion), Young said, "We continued our investments and invested TL 750 million ($212.6 million) in Turkey as the group. Turkey has attracted the fourth largest investment on Bosch's global investment scale. In this sense, Turkey is a very important country for Bosch."
Young also said that Bosch Turkey, which has also increased its employment numbers, currently employs more than 17,000 employees. He indicated that Turkey is the largest country in Europe after Germany and the fifth largest country in the world.
Bosch provides security system for Eurasia tunnel
Providing information about Bosch's operations in Turkey, Young recalled that the company undertook a very prestigious project in security systems and installed all the security cameras, software and hardware in the Eurasia Tunnel, which connects Istanbul's two continents.
Pointing out that they provide Bosch Car services in the automotive field, especially in the aftermarket area, Young said they have plans to launch a service concept for motorcycles called the "express valve" which would be the first of its kind in Turkey, asserting that the first three will be completed this year and the number will increase to 30 over the next three years.
'We continue our investments'
Elaborating on this year's figures and expectations, Young noted that comparing the first six months of 2017 with the same period of 2016, investment rates exceed 10 percent. "According to our estimates, we foresee that we will close this year with at least 10-percent growth in comparison to the previous year. We continue our investments in 2017. This year, we will invest TL 650 million ($184.2 million) as a group in Turkey and the lion's share of this investment will go to Bursa," he noted.
Young suggested that Bosch will continue to grow in terms of production plants for "diesel and gasoline" and "brake and hydraulic" systems, noting that they have increased their capacity especially in brake systems, adding that the old location, which served 1.3 million vehicles, can now provide service for 2.2 million vehicles.
Bosch's 'Industry 4.0'
He recalled that Bosch initiated the "Industry 4.0" initiative with the support of the German government in 2011 and launched it to globally, adding that they have 250 production facilities around the world, more than 100 of which are now "Industry 4.0" compliant -- including the diesel plant in Bursa, the thermal technical plant in Manisa and the factory in Çerkezköy. "As of 2014, we, as Bosch, have launched these applications in our factories in Turkey," he continued.
Indicating that they have begun to bring "Industrial 4.0" to Turkish industrialists in parallel with their own factory applications while noting that they remain engaged in efforts to set up a software center in this scope, Young stressed that it is absolutely necessary to place"Industry 4.0" investments under incentive, adding that satisfactory developments have been made in this direction. He also said that a working group, which includes non-governmental organizations (NGOs), chambers, industrialists and Bosch, has been established by the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, highlighting that the government supports the development and further expansion of these efforts.
"In order to protect and develop the competitive edge of the Turkish industrialists, "Industry 4.0" should definitely be on our country's agenda and we need to cover distance in this regard," Young said.
Investments not affected
Regarding a question of whether the problems experienced between Turkey and Germany have affected the investments, Young said investments have not been affected, referring to both this year and the previous year, adding that the current investment environment is conducive for further investments and offers very attractive incentives in Turkey. "We were chosen as the firm to receive the largest number of incentives in the automotive sector last year, which indicates Bosch's trust in operations in Turkey and the entire country," Young said.
When asked whether the July 15 coup attempt affected their investment decisions, Young stressed that they continue their investments in Turkey and that they have been in the country for around 107 years. "Turkey has seen many things within this period. We are continuously increasing our presence in Turkey. Short-term factors do not affect our long-term perspectives," he concluded.