In the fiscal year 2022, Bosch Rexroth’s sales reached 7 billion euros, the highest in the company’s history. The sales were up 14.1% compared to the previous year. New orders came in at €7.3 billion, down slightly from the previous year but still just below the all-time high. The company is enhancing the competitiveness of its product portfolio through acquisitions and strategic partnerships, and focusing on future business growth and balanced regional business development. Bosch Rexroth’s investment in existing and new production sites, as well as in research and development, has reached a record high. At the end of 2022, Bosch Rexroth had around 32,100 employees worldwide, an increase of 3% compared to the previous year.

“Despite the difficult macroeconomic environment in 2022, we continued Bosch Rexroth’s strong growth momentum. We continue to focus on product technology development in the areas of hydraulics, electrification and factory automation, and enhance the competitiveness of our product portfolio through acquisitions to achieve future growth and meet the changing needs of our customers. Even in these difficult times, Bosch Rexroth has been a reliable partner with an innovative spirit.” Dr. Steffen Haack, CEO of Bosch Rexroth AG.

Sales and Orders: Despite the challenges, the company’s overall sales and new orders were strong

In the fiscal year 2022, Bosch Rexroth achieved sales of 7 billion euros, an increase of 14.1%, setting a new historical record. In the last fiscal year, Bosch Rexroth’s sales of 6.2 billion euros have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Compared to the sales results in 2019, Bosch Rexroth’s sales in the 2022 financial year increased by 849 million euros.

The Americas region saw the largest increase, with sales of €1.4 billion, up 34.8%. European markets excluding Germany followed with sales of 2.4 billion euros, up 16.5%; In Germany, sales increased by 11.3% to €1.4 billion. Sales growth in the Asia/Africa/Australia region was relatively weak, with total sales of €1.8 billion. China is the largest market in the region and one of the largest sales markets for the entire Bosch Rexroth Group. Sales in China fell by more than 9% amid the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. However, sales growth in other regions made up for this and eventually set a new record.

In addition to real growth, exchange rate movements and price fluctuations can also have an impact on turnover. Through mutual understanding and cooperation with its customers, Bosch Rexroth effectively copes with the rapidly rising costs of raw materials, energy, logistics and manpower. But even so, the cost pressure on the company is still huge.

In 2022, Bosch Rexroth’s new orders amounted to approximately 7.3 billion euros, down 2.1% from the previous year. Bosch Rexroth has responded effectively to the challenges posed by pandemic policies and conflicts in Europe. However, the amount of new orders added during the year has been volatile, varying by region or technology.

Research and development and global production network: focusing on customer interests, the amount of investment reached a new record

Bosch Rexroth has once again increased its investment in research and development and in the global production network, with a focus on innovation and efficient service models for its customers.

In fiscal year 2022, Bosch Rexroth invested approximately €388 million in research and development. This amount represents about 5.5% of total sales and is also the highest in the company’s history. Key areas of investment include the eLION product platform for digitization and electrification of walking machinery, the ctrlX AUTOMATION platform for factory automation, the ACTIVE Shuttle for autonomous mobile robots, and the H4U system software platform for industrial hydraulics. Bosch Rexroth will present many of these innovations to you at Hannover MESse from 17 to 21 April 2023.

Bosch Rexroth invested €274 million in its global production network of 46 sites, representing 3.9% of sales and an increase of 53.1% compared to the previous year. This investment is also the highest in the past decade. Funds will be invested to modernize existing production sites and build new ones. Bosch Rexroth is currently building new plants in Queretaro (Mexico) and Charlotte (North Carolina, USA) to enhance the regional supply chain in North America. In Slovenia, Bosch Rexroth is merging three existing production sites into a new plant in Ljubljana to serve the growth of its business in the European market. In Germany, the company has invested more than €120 million in building offices, logistics and production facilities for the iron foundry in Lohr, as well as modernizing the plant in all its aspects. Outside Germany, Bosch Rexroth has invested the most in Turkey and China.

These measures are conducive to creating a balanced production network and achieving sustainable development in order to further optimize the supply of products and services.

Acquisitions and partnerships: Further enhance portfolio competitiveness and business growth potential

In 2022, Bosch Rexroth acquired a number of companies as well as company shares and formed a number of joint ventures.

The largest acquisition came in the hydraulic business, which was announced in July 2022: HydraForce is a company specializing in mechanical and electromagnetic cartridge valves, as well as hydraulic integrated block valve sets, headquartered in the United States with a total of about 2,100 employees. With the acquisition completed in February 2023, the addition of HydraForce significantly enhances Bosch Rexroth’s presence in compact hydraulic systems, particularly in North America, and will enable further growth in Asia.

In terms of factory automation, Israel-based Elmo Motion Control has been an integral part of Bosch Rexroth’s Automation and Electrical Control division since November. The company develops and produces high-end electric servo drives and drive controllers for industrial automation. These products will further complement the product portfolio based on the ctrlX AUTOMATION Automation platform.

Bosch Rexroth acquired a majority stake in Kassow Robots, a robot brand from Denmark, in May. Kassow Robots is primarily responsible for the development and production of collaborative robots for industrial applications.

In China, Bosch Rexroth has established two new companies, Leda Bohua Automation (Shanghai) Co., LTD., in the field of factory automation, and Lezhuo Bowei Hydraulic Technology (Shanghai) Co., LTD., in the field of machinery and industrial Hydraulics, to further grow the business by providing products to meet the market needs of specific markets.