New business 1960 - 1989

The 1960s through to the 1980s were marked by transformation at Bosch, turning it into a diversified group with self-managed divisions, a global company, and the market leader in automotive electronics.

New structure — divisions are formed

Between 1950 and 1960, the number of Bosch associates increased from 15,000 to 70,000. The centralized structure of a medium-sized enterprise no longer sufficed, and so during the 1960s the business fields gradually became more independent, starting with the Power Tools division. During this time of economic boom and full employment, Bosch made acquisitions in other sectors and thousands of associates were retrained to manufacture automotive electrics.

From hydraulics to packaging

Even if the automotive industry in the most important market for Bosch at that time, western Europe, was booming, the diversification drive into other sectors was still important. After moving into mobile hydraulics, medical electronics, and radio technology during the 1950s, Bosch bought into a packaging machinery company in 1963 and expanded its activities with further acquisitions to form the Packaging Technology division.

The founder’s legacy — the Robert Bosch Stiftung

The Bosch family home on a hill in eastern Stuttgart is now the headquarters of the Robert Bosch Stiftung, which was founded in 1964.

Research, development, and acquisition — with the power of innovation

Bosch pooled its research and development resources in a new research center in 1968. This combined effort was needed to germinate the ideas that Bosch later turned into the innovative products that gave it the competitive edge. From the mid-1960s, the company’s own research institutes also focused on special projects, such as integrated circuits.