Bosch's $40 million centre in Victoria inaugurated
Engineering firm Bosch inaugurated its $40 million headquarters and technical centre at Clayton in Victoria this week and said it would invest a further $6.2 million in increasing its diode production capacity.
The investment at its 120,000 square metre campus is its single largest in Australia since it set up the wholly-owned subsidiary in 1954. The company has around 800 employees at the centre.
The centre was inaugurated by the Victorian minister for Industry and Minister for Energy and Resources, the Hon Lily D’ambrosia MP.
Bosch's new headquarters will support new businesses, engineering and R&D initiatives, said a media release.
“The new facility is evidence of Bosch’s long-term commitment to diversified activities in this region including sales and distribution, high-tech engineering, advanced manufacturing and further investment into exciting new fields,” said Gavin Smith, Bosch president with responsibility for the region Oceania.
Most recently, the company invested in Australian start-up The Yield, which focuses on micro-climate sensing technology in agriculture and aquaculture.
Bosch is also working in the areas of Highly Automated Driving (HAD), vehicle connectivity and vehicle security (through secure gateway systems) in Australia.
New business activities in Australia have also been introduced in eBike service, motorsport components sales and innovative software solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT).
In addition Bosch is investing a further $6.2 million in manufacturing for the global automotive sector. The Clayton facility's Diodes production capacity will be increased to cater to its growing international customers. The federal government has also contributed $1 million from the Automotive Diversification Programme (ADP).
The new facility incorporates offices, workshops, testing facilities, training rooms and employee amenities. It has a landscaped courtyard with semi-established trees, and an outside terrace with an alternative working space.