Robert Bosch India has acquired land at the special economic zone ay Saravanampatti developed by Coimbatore Hitech Infrastructure Private Limited (CHIL) to build research infrastructure for automotive technologies.

Bosch spends more than three billion euros each year for research and development, and in 2006 applied for over 3,000 patents worldwide.

In May 2006, Bosch India set up its second 'development centre' at Saravanampatti, where it has now signed an agreement with CHIL to lease about 21.88 acres of land on which the construction of the development centre is due to commence in the last quarter of 2007. The first phase of the project is targeted for inauguration by early 2009.

At this centre, the company will be working on advanced technologies designing new electronic control unit (ECU) for diesel and petrol engines, and other automotive applications such as portable navigation systems, semi autonomous parking systems, adaptive cruise control, and AUTOSAR, the new upcoming automotive software architecture.

The new infrastructure will provide employment opportunities to people in the region and opportunity to work on the innovative technologies developed by Bosch in the areas of software and hardware development, mechanical engineering and business services-technologies based on which Bosch applied for more than 3000 patents in 2006.

The strength of Bosch India at Coimbatore has grown to more than 480 associates. The company is among the first approved SEZ unit for IT and ITeS in Coimbatore, which will grow as one of Bosch's important development locations globally.

"The rich talent available in the region of Coimbatore is the sound basis on which our company will grow in Coimbatore," said Friedhelm Pickhard, managing director, Robert Bosch India Limited.

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs 260,000 associates in the areas of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology, through whom the company generated sales of €43.7 billion in fiscal 2006. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 300 subsidiaries and regional companies in over 50 countries.

The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as "Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering."