Living in the city can have its humorous moments. This morning we were greeted the the usual Wednesday morning trash truck, with it's usual hums and thumps. But we knew this truck had to have a soul from a past life as whale song descended over the neighborhood. Honest to goodness, the truck sounded for all the world like it was calling to its long lost pod as it dumped cans into its belly. We had to chuckle.
Yesterday, I asked the question of who was Robert Bosch. This man is, of course, very important to us because without him, my husband wouldn't have a job, and we wouldn't be here. Robert Bosch was born in the German village of Albeck in September of 1861 near Ulm about 50 minutes from where we live. (Kids - what other big event was starting in America in 1861?) He had a very big family - he was number 11 of 12. His father believed very much in the importance of education, so Robert went off to school in Ulm and then on to an apprenticeship in the machine tooling industry as a precision mechanic. He worked in various German companies, but he really wanted to go to the USA since he was very impressed with our democracy. He got a job working for Edison Electric. He also worked in the UK for Siemens. Being in both of these cultures shaped the way he would conduct business forever more.
In 1886, he began what would eventually become the worldwide, highly respected company of Bosch in Stuttgart. There, through his tinkering, he perfected tools and devices that made significant improvements to the work industry. His first big breakthrough was with a magneto ignition device that was eventually used on cars as the first spark plugs and allowing for internal combustion engines by 1902. By 1910, he had opened his first factory in the US. Sales offices had already spread to the US and the UK by this time, and by 1913, he had offices on 6 of the 7 continents. In 1927, Bosch developed diesel fuel injection technology that helped to bolster the success of the company. But with changing times during the Great Depression, so came changes within Bosch. By diversifying to electronics, his company grew again by leaps and bounds.
Many of Robert Bosch's personal goals for his employees can still be felt today. He was a huge supporter of training above and beyond to continually make his employees the best in the business and stay ahead of the curve. He also felt his employees' well-being was very important and mandated an 8 hour work day, which at the time was unheard of, as well as Saturday afternoons off and holidays.
He was also a very conscientious and giving person. He donated 1 million Deutschmarks (the name of the German currency before the Euro) in 1910 to the Technical University in Stuttgart. Any money made by parts for the first world war was donated to charitable causes, eventually including the opening of a new hospital in Stuttgart. His will stipulated that the earnings of the company in the future would go to charitable organizations. Through the Robert Bosch Foundation, his values are still observed today for the public good.
He used his influence and money to affect the political situation between Germany and France, where ties were strained at best. During World War II, he supported the resistance of the Nazi party and helped victims of Nazi persecution. However, his dreams of peace for Europe and a single economic Europe without customs barriers would have to wait for a different generation, though. Robert Bosch passed away at the age of 80 on March 12th, 1942. Today, however, I think he would be please to see how Europe has changed as well as to see the results of the formation of the EU.
He ran his life on basic principals and the following mottos: "Sell the best of the best" and "Your business partner's satisfaction is more important that short-term profit". His obvious attention to the well-being of his employees had a huge impact on the quality and efficiency of products his company produced. Today, when you say in Germany that you work for Bosch, it comes with an added level of respect from those around you, both for the admired products of the company and the well-known treatment of its employees. We have felt it here ourselves. His innovations also shaped the world as we know it by aiding in the possibilities of mass-produced cars. His expansions into other fields now has evolved into Bosch at every turn, from dishwashers and laundry machines to quality tools for everyday needs, bigger tools for industrial needs, and of course the ever present automobile parts divisions. Through the examples and actions within his life, he is regarded within Germany as an exceptional man. Theodor Heuss, the first president of the German Federal Republic that came into being after World War II, said of him that he was "an example of how Germans can be."
I am very glad that I can call myself (even if by marriage only) a member of the Bosch family. I hope for the future, as we go through these terrible economic times, that the values and principals of this great visionary can continue to make this company one of the world's most outstanding.
I'd like to take a little moment to thank the always ever Wikipedia, the Robert Bosch Stiftung site, as well as the Bosch.com site for their historical information.
The word for today is innovation: die Innovation (in no fah tzee on) Notice that there are a lot of words in English that are the same in German.
The question for today is "Why are children sad about Hans Beck?"
Auf Wiedersehen,
Frau Spitzer
