Zalaegerszeg – On the 12th of September in 2022, the foundation stone of Bosch's new research, development and testing complex was laid in a ceremony in Zalaegerszeg, in the area directly adjacent to the ZalaZone test track. Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, István Szászi, representative of the Bosch Group in Hungary and in the Adria region, and László Vigh, Member of Parliament, and Zoltán Balaicz, Mayor of Zalaegerszeg, also attended the event. The investment of €11.4 million will give 200 development engineers the opportunity to shape the key automotive technologies of the future in the 3,500 square meter Bosch Research, Development and Test Campus Zalaegerszeg.
"Bosch Group is committed to researching the technologies of the future worldwide, and in Hungary, too, we are strengthening our research and development activities year by year. A few days ago, we inaugurated the Bosch Budapest Innovation Campus, and now we are starting the construction of the Bosch Research, Development and Test Campus Zalaegerszeg. We are also carrying out R&D activities at our sites in Miskolc and Maklár, and today one in five of our associates is involved in innovation in Hungary," said Dr. István Szászi, representative of the Bosch Group in Hungary and in the Adria region. Bosch's new complex in Zalaegerszeg will focus on several areas, including self-driving cars, electromobility and technologies using artificial intelligence.
Bosch further increases its R&D and testing capacity
Almost 4,000 Bosch associates are working on the research and development of future technologies in Hungary, and the new complex in Zalaegerszeg will further increase this capacity. Bosch is already using ZalaZone to test driver assistance systems, but the new satellite location will further expand activity in the region. According to the plans Bosch in Zalaegerszeg will welcome two hundred new associates, making it a suitable location for international cooperation within the company.
In Zalaegerszeg, Bosch will mainly focus on the development and testing of driver assistance systems and autonomous driving, such as radar and camera-based systems or laser-based remote sensing. The center will also be involved in the development and testing of driver assistance systems, dashboards, steering control systems, electric motors, and ABS systems.
World-class workshop and instrumentation to support testing
The Bosch Research, Development and Test Campus Zalaegerszeg will be located on a 10,000 m2 site adjacent to the ZalaZone Automotive Proving Ground, where a 2,000 m2 office building and a 1,500 m2 workshop will be built. The latter will be equipped with eight stations for outfitting the test cars, various diagnostic instruments, and will be able to test cars both with internal combustion engines and electric motors.
The buildings are scheduled to be completed by December 2023, with the total investment expected to be completed by 2025. The project is supported by the Hungarian government.
Cooperation with the Széchenyi István University
The complex in Zalaegerszeg, now under construction, will play an important role in Bosch's research and development ecosystem, the goal of which is close cooperation between the industrial-technological and university-academic worlds. This joint work is also strengthened by the declaration of intent signed at the foundation stone ceremony by the Széchenyi István University in Győr, which inaugurated its new buildings in Zalaegerszeg on the same day, and Bosch Goup Hungary. The parties will also expand their cooperation in education and research and development.
Zita Hella Varga
Phone: +36 70 667-6374
Bosch has been present in Hungary since 1898 with its products. After its re-establishment as a regional trading company in 1991, Bosch has grown into one of Hungary’s largest foreign industrial employers with currently eight subsidiaries. In fiscal 2021 it had total net sales of 1,711 billion forints and consolidated sales to third parties on the Hungarian market of 273 billion forints. The Bosch Group in Hungary employs more than 17,000 associates (as of December 31, 2021). In addition to its manufacturing, commercial and development business, Bosch has a network of sales and service operations that covers the entire country.
The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 402,600 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2021). The company generated sales of 78.7 billion euros in 2021. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. As a leading IoT provider, Bosch offers innovative solutions for smart homes, Industry 4.0, and connected mobility. Bosch is pursuing a vision of mobility that is sustainable, safe, and exciting. It uses its expertise in sensor technology, software, and services, as well as its own IoT cloud, to offer its customers connected, cross-domain solutions from a single source. The Bosch Group’s strategic objective is to facilitate connected living with products and solutions that either contain artificial intelligence (AI) or have been developed or manufactured with its help. Bosch improves quality of life worldwide with products and services that are innovative and spark enthusiasm. In short, Bosch creates technology that is “Invented for life.” The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 440 subsidiary and regional companies in some 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Bosch’s global manufacturing, engineering, and sales network covers nearly every country in the world. With its more than 400 locations worldwide, the Bosch Group has been carbon neutral since the first quarter of 2020. The basis for the company’s future growth is its innovative strength. At 128 locations across the globe, Bosch employs some 76,100 associates in research and development, of which more than 38,000 are software engineers.
Additional information is available online at www.bosch.hu, iot.boschblog.hu, www.bosch.com, www.iot.bosch.com, www.bosch-press.com, www.twitter.com/BoschPresse