PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, MI – Aiming to beef up its presence in key technology areas such as stop/start systems, cyber-security and self-driving vehicles, Germany-based auto supplier Robert Bosch breaks ground for a major expansion of its technical center in suburban Detroit.
The 220,500-sq.-ft. (20,485-sq.-m) addition will add 200 new jobs in Michigan over the next three years, all of them engineering-related, and “Good-paying high-tech jobs,” says Robert Bosch LLC President Mike Mansuetti.
When the expansion is completed in November 2015, it will nearly double the size of the existing facility and will have capacity for 1,400 people. It currently houses 850.
In Michigan, Bosch has 3,200 employees in 15 cities, including Farmington Hills, which is the headquarters for Robert Bosch LLC, the North American subsidiary of global supplier giant Robert Bosch GmbH.
Work at the technical center will continue to involve several Bosch divisions, including Electrical Drives, Starter Motors and Generators, as well as Chassis Systems Control and Automotive Electronics. The latter two divisions will have the lion’s share of employees at the expanded tech center.
The Electronics Div. is expanding Bosch’s automotive business, Mansuetti says, especially in the area related to providing vehicle communication gateway modules featuring advanced cyber-security technology as well as efficiency-enabling products such as battery sensors and DC/DC converters.
The electronics unit also is involved in other areas, including electrically powered bicycles, which are becoming popular.
The Chassis Systems Control Div. is developing a variety of driver-assistance technologies aimed at automated driving and generally making driving safer, more comfortable and convenient.
“Members of the Chassis Systems Control team that will occupy the new building are developing and implementing new technologies to achieve our vision of injury- and accident-free driving,” Mansuetti tells attendees at the groundbreaking ceremony.
The expansion also will provide Bosch with laboratory and office space needed to bring together employees involved with related projects but currently working at separate facilities.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, on hand to help Mansuetti dig the first ceremonial shovelfuls, commends Bosch as “an advocate for preparing tomorrow’s work force through hands-on tech training.”
