3. Partnership with Bosch
1949-
(1) The Intentions of Both Companies
- 1951
- A representative from Robert Bosch GmbH, seeking partnerships with foreign companies, visited Japan. Although our company had achieved independence, it was still quite fragile. Nonetheless, this visit presented a significant opportunity for us to make a substantial leap forward as an automotive electrical components manufacturer.
The technical collaboration with Robert Bosch GmbH marked the first and greatest milestone in our company's history.
This partnership came at a pivotal moment during the early stages of Japan's motorization, serving as the launchpad for our company to become one of the world's leading comprehensive automotive parts manufacturers.
At the time, we had just managed to modernize our production facilities through a series of substantial investments. However, to fully leverage these state-of-the-art facilities and mass-produce competitive products, we needed to significantly enhance our technology in areas such as design, production, inspection, and materials. We were still lagging in these aspects. The technological level of automotive electrical components in Japan was considered to be more than ten years behind that of Europe and the United States.
Robert Bosch GmbH of West Germany (as it was then) had overcome the post-war reconstruction period and had become the leading electrical components manufacturer in Europe. Amid rising political tensions between East and West Germany, Bosch was keen to secure its assets and technology in politically stable countries, prompting it to seek technical partnerships with foreign manufacturers.
To explore potential partners, Karl Zehender, the director in charge of overseas operations, visited Japan in the autumn of 1951. He conducted a thorough investigation of several Japanese electrical component manufacturers that had previously caught his eye. However, at that time, our company's name was not yet on the list.