The Power Tools

Bosch Power Tool (PT) division in India provides a complete range of power tools for construction, woodworking and metalworking industry for professional users. Vijay Pandey, Vice President, Bosch Power Tools, India speaks to Buildotech about the company and the products.

Bosch Power tools India and international presence

Bosch is a German multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its more than 360 subsidiaries and regional companies in some 50 countries. It began Indian operations in 1922 with the first sales office being setup in Calcutta (now Kolkata). The manufacturing operations were initiated in 1953 and have expanded over the years. Power Tools is a significant division of Bosch’ operations. Since its inception in 1993, Bosch has been a market-leader in this vertical making concerted efforts to revolutionize products for Indian professionals in the B2B segment.

What are the segments Bosch PT is catering to in India?

Bosch Power Tool’s offerings are extensive for diverse sectors including construction, woodworking, metalworking and other industrial and engineering applications. The tools are competitively priced and are reputed for their sublime quality and superior post sales services. Product offerings include over 300 tools including cordless screw drivers, drill machines, impact wrenches, rotary hammers, surveying equipment and laser measuring devices. The customer-base includes but is not limited to architects, interior decorators, construction workers, manual labourers, painters and managers of warehouses, fitters of doors and windows and carpenters.

What are the product offerings for the Indian construction market?

For the construction industry specifically, the range of products includes rotary hammers which are capable of penetrating the toughest materials and are extremely durable, laser distance measuring devices – small machines which accurately measure the distance between two points using laser technology. These also measure area and volume of space as well as heights up to 250m. The GLM 100, syncs via Bluetooth to a cell phone and is an application which may be used to measure dimensions of sites, take photographs and provides an immediate blueprint which can be shared on multiple platforms.

Rotation Levellers, Line Levellers and Point Levellers are devices used for to measure levels on different walls for fixing. When the machine is switched on, a visible laser grid appears so the alignment for fixing, painting, tiling or making partitions is made simple.

Measuring Inclinations and remote controlled products exclusive to Bosch, measure surface inclination and are used to fix pipes or staircase railings. The advantage of these is that they are quicker and more accurate to record the angles of inclination when compared to spirit levels which indicate the direction of inclination via a bubble.

Detectors use ultra-sound technology to detect the presence of any magnetic and non-magnetic metals, power cables, wooden substructures or even plastic pipes prior to any drilling. Additionally, these can be used to gauge the depth and composition of such structures within the walls.

What are the advantages of power tools over traditional methods?

Power tools are designed to save energy, are time-efficient and are capable of high performance. The range of tools offered by Bosch are compact, light-weight and run on environment friendly Lithium-ion technology. Over 350+ diverse range of product offering serves as solutions to both industrial and engineering applications that include screw driving, drilling, cutting, grinding, polishing, and sanding etc.

Barring the recharging requirement, cordless tools are beneficial since they enable mobility for professional tradesmen and other users. An important application range of cordless tools is semi-industrial production, such as furniture manufacture, the electrical industry or vehicle construction. Contactless energy transfer is especially beneficial in these stationary applications, where it is considerably more cost-effective than conventional charging systems because it eliminates the need for a second battery or expensive industrial charging stations.

The Bosch “Wireless Charging System” offers users the following advantages:

• Greater user-friendliness and productivity because the batteries stay in the tool and can be parked on the charging station during every work interruption to charge them. Integrating charging into the workflow is very straightforward. The result is that the tools are always ready to be used.

• Complete flexibility because the inductive batteries within a voltage class continue to be compatible with all tools in that class.

• Very robust charging stations that no longer have contact points and are therefore durable against water, dust and dirt.

Services provided by Bosch for operating power tools

In addition to providing a comprehen-sive range of products, Bosch drives end-to-end post-sales services. In the case of service related queries, the service team provides assistance to customers. Across India, Bosch has a large dealer and service network with over 200 services centers. Also a tool bought in one state can be serviced anywhere in the country. Our service centers are geared to repair the tool in the shortest possible time. Nearly 90% of the repairs are completed within 48 hours.

The Bosch System Specialist (BSS) Stores, of which there are 55 at present, are professional retail outlets dedicated to equipping and showcasing the range of tools and machinery Bosch has to offer. Also, Bosch is associated with Fischer whose products it sells exclusively.

The current power tools market scenario in India & the future potential

The domestic power tools industry, growing at a rate of 5-7% annually, has a few large companies who have invested in R&D centres, innovation, manufacturing outlets, distribution and repair centres and retail outlets. Although USA will remain the largest market for power tools, China and India remain the fastest growing markets. There has been an average growth of 40% growth per annum in India for the last seven years.

Challenges of the Indian construction segment in adopting power tools

There is often a misconception that power tools are unaffordable and this myth needs to be dispelled. Given that these are usually durable, high-performing, automated, precise and time-efficient investments will bear fruit. Additionally, power tools are a requisite for several key industries; infrastructure being one – the onus is on the government to thrust overall development and attract investment into this sector. There is also room to ensure inclusive growth by making accessible power tools to improve smaller industrially important towns in Tier II and Tier III cities so growth is inclusive.

Bosch PT’s marketing strategy for India and growth plans.

In the current fiscal, we are looking at launching more products for the home, hobby and garden segments. We also have plans to roll out a range of competitively priced products targeted at the Indian tradesman, as part of our efforts to widen the customer base. To suit their specific requirements, Bosch has also made a concerted effort to develop compelling entry-level products. There is huge potential to spearhead this movement, and building this category through awareness and engagement is the very first step. Going ahead, there will be a huge thrust on building this business, along with our professional range of products.

In top engineering institutes Bosch provides continuous training and has established Bosch training labs in some of the major regional engineering colleges like Suratkal, Rourkela.