Bosch opens new plant in Bidadi, its 14h in India and 5th in Karnataka

Auto component and technology supplier Bosch today inaugurated its all-new manufacturing facility in Bidadi industrial zone near Bangalore. This is the company’s 14th manufacturing facility in India and its fifth in Karnataka state.

The company plans to shift its manufacturing operations from its existing Adugodi plant, inside Bangalore city, to the new Bidadi facility in phased manner.

Delivering the inaugural address, Dr Steffen Berns, president, Bosch Group India and MD, Bosch Ltd, said the new plant in Bidadi will manufacture products for the Diesel Systems division.  “We see a lot of growth potential in India and strive to bring more projects, products and manufacturing to the country also in the future. Our growth in India is closely interwoven with the relationship we share with Karnataka,” he added.  

The company has invested Rs 340 crore to set up the new greenfield plant, which has been built in 20 months. This investment underlines the importance of India for the Bosch Group. “India is a key pillar of our growth strategy in Asia Pacific. A strong local presence is the basis for further growth in the region,” said Peter Tyroller, member of the Board of Management of the Bosch Group responsible for Asia Pacific. “Bosch is on track to double sales in Asia Pacific by 2020,” he added.

Inaugurating the plant, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said: “The government will extend all support to Bosch and other industries. Bosch has invested in Karnataka almost six decades ago and we are committed to support them.” He also said the state will conduct a Global Investors Meet in November this year to attract more global investment in all fields including automotive.

Meanwhile, R V Deshpande, Karnataka’s minister for industries, said that Bosch has a proposal to expand its Bidadi plant in a second phase. He invited the Bosch management to submit the proposal to the state government at the earliest, assuring it of speedy clearance and also asked the company to make all its future investments only in Karnataka.

The construction of the Bidadi plant spans two phases, with the second phase scheduled to be completed by 2018. The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility will produce diesel products which were previously manufactured at the Adugodi plant. The Bidadi plant will have over 2,600 workforce.

Like the previous location, the new plant in Bidadi will continue to be the lead plant for the production of singe-cylinder, common-rail pumps along with conventional fuel injection pumps.

In 2015, Bosch has started the production of the common-rail fuel injection system pump in Bidadi. By 2016-17, production of the newer version of the common-rail fuel injection pump is expected.