Bosch pours extra US$22 million into Dong Nai plant
Bosch Vietnam said at an annual press conference in HCMC on June 2 that its gasoline systems plant manufacturing continuously variable transmission (CVT) pushbelts in Dong Nai would get an extra investment of US$22 million after it received more than US$23 million last year.
Ryosuke Masumitsu, manager of the gasoline systems facility, said the extra sum would go to equipment and production lines to expand capacity and meet increasing needs for CVT pushbelts of automakers in Japan, China, Mexico and Thailand.
By the end of 2016, Bosch’s total investment will have reached US$340 million. Around US$1 million of the investment was used to recycle wastewater at the plant, with wastewater undergoing two treatment processes before being reused for manufacturing or gardening purposes.
Bosch Vietnam managing director Vo Quang Hue told the press conference that the company achieved sales growth of around 50% in the fiscal year 2015 with consolidated sales amounting to US$68 million.
Total net sales, including sales to non-consolidated companies and internal deliveries to affiliated companies, amounted to US$293 million, according to Bosch Vietnam.
Hue said all business sectors of Bosch in Vietnam are doing well and contributing to the success story of Bosch in Vietnam. “Vietnam remains a key growth market for Bosch, and we are committed to investing in our operations here.”
Besides the investment in the plant, Bosch plans to hire 600 new people towards the year-end, raising the total headcount to 3,000 workers. Over 80% of the new employees will work at Bosch’s research and development (R&D) centers in HCMC. The two R&D centers have over 950 associates active in the fields of automotive and software and engineering.
“We will continue to develop Vietnam as a strategic hub for R&D and high-tech manufacturing,” said Hue.
On the day, Bosch Vietnam signed a training cooperation contract with LILAMA2 Technical and Technology College and the Delegate of German Industry and Commerce in Vietnam (GIC/AHK Vietnam) to offer the mechatronics discipline at the Bosch Technical Industrial Apprenticeship (TGA) besides industrial mechanics.
According to Hue, with around US$150,000 spent on the new discipline, the amount Bosch has invested in vocational training in Vietnam has added up to over US$1 million since 2013 when the program began.
Hue said mechatronics is applied to almost every technical product across a multitude of industries. “Introducing this new field is an effort from Bosch to help Vietnam build a highly-skilled technical workforce and improve the employability of our apprentices after they graduate.”
Admission to the two disciplines of industrial mechanics and mechatronics for the 2016-2017 school year is now open, with an annual intake of 12 apprentices per discipline.
The program frees apprentices from tuition fees and offers monthly allowances. The apprenticeship includes 3.5 years of theoretical studies at LILAMA2 Technical and Technology College and practical training at Bosch.
