Bosch plant near Wroclaw. How smartphones on wheels are made

The Bosch brake systems plant in Mirkow, near Wroclaw, is another example of why automotive giants choose the Wroclaw area. It has been in operation for 28 years and now employs nearly 1,300 specialists. The plant (40,000 square meters) produces components that are used every day in the vehicles of well-known automotive companies.

Bosch brake systems plant in Mirkow near Wroclaw. What is produced there?

The plant is a strategically important facility for the Bosch Group - it is the lead plant in Bosch's international braking systems manufacturing network of 9 plants worldwide.

As part of the network, the Polish branch, with its team of highly qualified coordinators and process experts, is responsible for standardizing and harmonizing the processes for the servo brakes and master cylinders produced at all the factories.

• The Bosch plant near Wroclaw produces a power unit every 3 seconds and a wheel speed sensor every 1.5 seconds.

For years, we have been observing the dynamic development of the Bosch site in Wroclaw, which has become a comprehensive competence center and a factory based on Industry 4.0 solutions. I am pleased that we can further strengthen the production of innovative brake systems in Poland and together participate in the transformation of the automotive industry.

_{Gerta Marliani, President of Vehicle Motion, Robert Bosch GmbH.}

Bosch Factory of the Future near Wroclaw. Industry 4.0 and modern intralogistics

Bosch continues to invest in the plant and introduce modern warehouse technologies.  The decision to develop further on the basis of the Factory of the Future concept and Industry 4.0 solutions is crucial in order to respond to the rapidly growing demand for manufactured components.

Bosch plant near Wroclaw. A modern SILO warehouse has been put into operation. What does it look like?

Another element of Industry 4.0 has recently been put into operation in Mirkow - a self-supporting SILO warehouse, a new fully automated warehouse.

• The capacity of the warehouse is more than 7,000 pallet places and its handling capacity is up to 400 pallets per hour.
• The warehouse is served by 6 automatic cranes, which distribute goods on racks up to 17 meters high.

Representatives of the company emphasize that the technology used significantly improves safety in the factory due to the full automation of handling in the high storage area. The warehouse is fully integrated with the S/4HANA software system, which enables planning using real-time data in the cloud.

Only the Bosch factory near Wroclaw uses these modern solutions

The Bosch factory near Wroclaw is the first Bosch Group plant to implement the above solution. It also ensures higher data compliance in the system by minimizing the risk of human error, further optimizing plant operations and reducing access time to stored materials. It is estimated that up to 140,000 users at 120 Bosch sites will be using the software by 2030.

Bosch Brake Systems plant uses AMR robots and cobots

For logistics operations, the plant also uses AMR autonomous mobile robots (AGVs) to deliver components to production lines on a daily basis. In the last six months alone, the plant's three mobile robots have made 10,344 transports and traveled 3,074 kilometers.

We are successfully using collaborative robots - cobots - in our daily work to automate processes in an intelligent and flexible way. This is a revolution in terms of increasing productivity and safety. We already have 3 cobots in operation at our plant, and we plan to have 8 more by 2024.

_{Piotr Pyzio, Member of the Board of Management of Robert Bosch sp. z o.o. and Director of the Bosch Brake Systems plant in Poland.}

Bosch research and development center near Wroclaw

Since 2012, the Mirkow plant has been home to a research and development (R&D) center, which today employs more than 90 engineers, highly qualified coordinators, and process experts.

The team develops products from the Group's automotive portfolio, in particular for the next generation of braking systems (e.g. Integrated Power Brake), and is responsible for standardizing and harmonizing processes for the production of servo brakes and master cylinders at all eight Bosch plants.

• The Wroclaw facility is also a center of excellence for work on the brake fluid expansion reservoir - an essential component of each generation of power units.
• Mirkow experts are also responsible for the design of the first-generation iBooster and the mechanical components of the iBooster 2.

The R&D center also conducts research using advanced numerical simulations and artificial intelligence, as well as developing modern trends in electrification and further driving automation.

Flagship components produced at Bosch plant near Wroclaw

In 28 years, the production lines at the Bosch plant near Wroclaw have produced more than 50 million components that have improved road safety around the world.

The most important Bosch components produced at the Bosch plant near Wroclaw are:

• The Wheel Speed Sensor (WSS) is a key component of the driver safety system.
• Its task is to collect precise data on wheel speed, which is essential for the proper operation of the ABS system, which controls braking force.
• Production of WSS sensors started in Mirkow in April 2022. In less than 12 months, more than one million sensors were produced, and today (almost two years later) the number has reached more than 13 million.

In Poland, Bosch also manufactures the second generation of the iBooster, a vacuum-independent electromechanical brake booster.

• The component not only shortens braking distances, but also helps to reduce the impact speed in unavoidable collisions, thus reducing the risk of serious injuries.
• The iBooster is particularly popular with manufacturers of electric and hybrid vehicles - by recovering energy, it extends the vehicle's range by up to a dozen percent.
• It is estimated that by 2027, as many as 15 million vehicles worldwide will be equipped with the iBooster 2 manufactured in Mirkow.

The cars of the future are being built near Wroclaw. They will be smartphones on wheels.

- Bosch in Wroclaw is shaping the future of motoring - first and foremost safely, but also excitingly, says Dr. Gerta Marliani, CEO of Vehicle Motion, Robert Bosch GmbH.

- For the Bosch Group's Mobility business sector, the Wroclaw plant plays a key role. As a leading location, it has a direct impact on the brake systems market. I am pleased that we can further strengthen the production of innovative braking systems in Poland and together participate in the transformation of the automotive industry. We are preparing a very stable ground for this," says Marliani.

- We are moving towards the vision of a vehicle that is a "smartphone on wheels". This is because software is playing an increasingly important role in mobility. It is the operating system and the available functions - in addition to the mechanics and the driving itself - that affect the quality of the in-car experience. This is why we are already talking about a software-based vehicle, or SWdV (Software Defined Vehicle)," adds Piotr Pyzio.

What Bosch does in Poland and in Wroclaw

The Bosch Group has been present in Poland since 1992. It is represented by four companies: Robert Bosch, Bosch Rexroth, BSH Home Appliances, and sia Abrasives Polska. Bosch has five locations in Poland: Warsaw, Wroclaw, Lodz, Rzeszow, and Goleniow, and employs 9,580 people (as of December 31, 2023).

In 2023, the Bosch Group in Poland will generate domestic sales of PLN 8 billion (according to preliminary financial results, February 2024).