Why Choose Bosch?
Rigorous German engineering, a focus on innovation, and a commitment to sustainability have given Bosch a stellar reputation among customers around the world for several decades running. In an effort to design appliances that achieve commercial-grade performance with a residential-sized footprint, Bosch has pioneered the use of remote diagnostics to save owners time and money. With over 390,000 employees, the company continues to come up with new ways to serve consumers every day.
History
To learn more about Bosch, let’s walk through the company’s initial founding, earliest days, significant milestones, and the current state of operations.
Founding and Milestones
When engineer Robert Bosch founded the company that now bears his name on November 15, 1886, he set out to design a low-voltage generator that increased the performance of gas engines. Working out of a yard in Stuttgart-West, Germany, Robert Bosch originally used the name “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering” to refer to his base of operations.
Ever the engineer, Robert was able to parlay the original design of his generator into a full-fledged ignition system over the course of the following year. Naturally, he began to gain a reputation as a reputable supplier among automobile manufacturers. The first Bosch factory in Stuttgart officially opened in 1901, and the company followed up by building a plant in Feuerbach nine years later.
In 1913, Robert Bosch began making headlights to build upon the success of the ignition systems he had invented. His budding company officially became a corporation under the name Bosch in 1917. After incorporating, Bosch began to manufacture injection pumps for diesel vehicles and windshield wipers for a variety of automobiles over the next decade. Bosch subsequently purchased a division of Junkers & Co. and became one of the first companies in the world to develop a car radio.
Shortly thereafter, Bosch would go on to play a crucial role for the German military in the years leading up to and during World War II. After establishing clandestine manufacturing plants in 1935 and 1937 for the sole purpose of producing advanced weaponry, the company made significant contributions to the Luftwaffe branch of the German military. Historians frequently note that Bosch’s Hildesheim plant was responsible for producing large amounts of the electrical equipment used by the German army’s trucks, tractors, and intimidating tanks.
In fact, the starters used by every German tank for the last two years of WWII came from Bosch’s famous Hildesheim factory. By the time the war ended, Bosch’s network of production factories spanned over 95 locations and more than 200 individual plants. Sadly, founder Robert Bosch passed away during this rapid period of growth in 1942.
After the end of World War II, Bosch began a period of growth through M&A activity and significant changes to the corporate structure. This period started in 1970 with the company migrating its main headquarters from Stuttgart to Gerlingen. Eleven years after opening its new headquarters, Bosch acquired Telefonbau & Normalzeit GmbH, one of Germany’s largest telecommunications companies. This acquisition set the tone for the decades that followed and was the first of many that Bosch successfully completed.
From 1976 to 2000, Bosch released several inventions into the worldwide marketplace, including electronic stability control, direct fuel injection, xenon lights, and multiple other electronic systems for automobiles. Since 2001, Bosch has produced numerous other inventions, including one of the first digital car radios to contain a CD player.
Today, Bosch’s executives count biomedical engineering, public communications, security systems, and home appliances among the variety of industries that the company is active in. The Bosch Group’s Consumer Goods division, which is responsible for making cutting-edge dishwashers, the famous 800 series refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, and much more, enjoys a loyal following of homeowners and business owners on several continents. In addition, Bosch has made an aggressive foray into the semiconductor industry in recent years.
Production and Manufacturing
Products
Bosch’s product lines fall into the following four categories:
- Energy and Building Technology
- Industrial Technology
- Consumer Goods
- Mobility Solutions
As Bosch’s largest division, the Mobility Solutions group carries on the company’s long-standing tradition of creating world-class vehicle components. This division’s most popular offerings include steering and driver-assistance systems, injection systems, aftermarket services, and tools for self-driving cars and trucks. The Industrial Technology division, which houses Bosch’s Packaging Technology and Connected Industry groups, creates cutting-edge control systems, assembly systems, and more. Overall, this division has more of a focus on building tools that other companies can deploy to automate factory operations.
When most people think of Bosch, however, they think of the products coming out of the company’s aforementioned Consumer Goods unit. In addition to producing some of the world’s most popular kitchen appliances and other home appliances, the Bosch Consumer Goods division also makes bestselling power tools, lawnmowers, and other electric gardening tools. Also of note, Bosch’s most popular consumer brands include Thermador and Gaggenau.
Out of all the products that the Bosch Consumer Goods division produces, it’s the 800 series and 500 series refrigerators that get the lion’s share of recognition among the company’s loyal customers. One of the more recent refrigerator lineups to hit the market, the 800 series offers a freestanding design with revolutionary airflow technology, a dual-compressor system, adjustable shelves, and more.
Smart integrations with the cutting-edge Home Connect system help differentiate Bosch 800 series refrigerators from competitors even further. Along with the newest Bosch 800 refrigerators and Bosch side-by-side refrigerators, Bosch 500 series refrigerators are also favored around the globe. Available with freestanding and built-in designs, Bosch freezers are also quite popular.
Bosch refrigerator ice makers and other Bosch refrigerator accessories add to the company’s complete lineup of kitchen appliances, leaving nothing to be desired among homeowners seeking reliable solutions for beverage preparation and food storage. To add extra elegance to particularly upscale kitchens, select Bosch French door refrigerators feature a glass display drawer and premium shelving with LED lighting. Built to provide versatile storage cavities for a variety of foods, Bosch fridge freezers have also amassed their share of fans.
Manufacturing
Bosch currently operates in more than 50 countries, and the company’s manufacturing footprint spans across both Europe and North America. The United Kingdom not only hosts one of Bosch’s largest corporate office complexes, but the country is also home to manufacturing locations for hydraulics, gardening products, and much more.
Many of Bosch’s R&D activities take place in locations across the United States. While Pennsylvania, California, and Massachusetts all have their own Bosch Research Technology Centers, many security products are made in Greer, South Carolina. In addition, Illinois is home to multiple Bosch manufacturing and distribution centers. Of Bosch’s hundreds of thousands of employees, over 20,000 are located within North America and Mexico. Since 1922, Bosch has also had a substantial presence in India.
Key Facts
Robert Bosch has once said, “I would rather lose money than lose trust.” He also reminded others to always treat people with dignity. His principles continue to guide the company after his death. By 1929, he had donated over $13 million, which equates to nearly $220 million in 2022 dollars. The Robert Bosch Foundation was started in 1964 in Germany and has granted over 1.6 billion Euros. It also holds about 92% of the company’s shares.
Bosch looks into ways to reduce its energy consumption as much as possible. The company also supports environmental programs. Almost half of the company’s research and development money goes toward technologies that conserve the environment and resources.
They maintain a diverse workforce and work with skilled partners who make a positive impact on their communities. In the United States, the company teamed up with eBike to assist community organizations in Chicago. The Bosch Community Fund was set up in North America in 2011. It gives back to the community and supports environmental programs and STEM initiatives. The fund awards up to $5 million in grants each year.
As verified by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a collaboration involving the United National Global Compact and the World Wide Fund for Nature, Bosch has been carbon neutral since 2020. Although this company trades on public markets around the world, Bosch has a corporate mandate that eschews short-term profit seeking to pursue a long-term focus on eco-friendliness and sustainability. To set and achieve specific goals, Bosch’s “New Dimensions — Sustainability 2025” program focuses on quantifiable support for improvements in these six key areas:
- Climate
- Energy
- Water
- Urbanization
- Globalization
- Health
Climate initiatives include achieving a 15% reduction in scope 3 carbon emissions by the year 2030 and having every manufacturing plant operate in a completely climate-neutral manner (as per scopes 1 and 2) indefinitely. Over the past several years, Bosch has broken ground on several thousand new energy projects around the world. So far, these projects have captured over 300 terawatt-hours in potential savings.
To complement these achievements and future plans, Bosch has also set goals around water usage in areas with scarcity. At the same time that the company began launching its portfolio of initiatives around renewable energy, Bosch began reducing its water withdrawal at multiple locations.
While Bosch has increased its focus on incorporating renewable energy sources into operations and becoming a more responsible corporation, this multinational conglomerate has continued its pace of innovation unabated. During the second decade of this millennium alone, Bosch was granted over 31,000 patents. Of the thousands of patents that Bosch currently owns, more than 3,000 are directly related to automation and autonomous systems.
Warranty Information
Bosch backs its home appliances with an iron-clad warranty that covers malfunctioning components and other defects. Built-in dishwashers are covered for up to five years, and built-in wall ovens come with a one-year warranty that covers the parts and labor required to fix a variety of problems. Bosch cooktops and range tops have a similar warranty as new wall ovens.
Furthermore, all Bosch fridges come with a lifetime warranty covering rust damage on a unit’s stainless-steel exterior. Non-electronic components are guaranteed to function perfectly for up to two years, and every refrigerator’s electronic components are backed by a factory warranty for five full years.
In addition, customers have the option to purchase additional coverage through the Bosch Appliance Service Plan program. This program provides extra coverage after the standard warranty expires and provides Bosch product owners with access to remote troubleshooting options and much more.
When you first take home a Bosch appliance, you will be able to quickly register your machine in the company’s database if you would like to. Fortunately, Bosch’s registration process is fast, free, and easy. Of course, you can choose not to register a Bosch home appliance that you have bought. However, you will then need to present proof of purchase in order to use the warranty for replacement parts and labor.
Bosch Refrigerator Parts
Bosch refrigerators all feature a high-precision compressor system that produces consistent cavity temperatures without a lot of noise. The compressor, while cooling down or heating up the fridge and the freezer throughout the day, cycles the refrigerant through each storage cavity. Engineered in alignment with Bosch’s sustainability goals, these compressors function as the heart of Bosch’s numerous ENERGY STAR-certified models.
Aiding the premium compressor inside of a Bosch fridge is a high-grade condenser, an evaporator coil, and a responsive thermostat. MultiAirFlow™ and other proprietary cooling mechanisms from Bosch ensure that these components work together to produce a storage cavity that has a uniform temperature distribution inside. For enhanced performance, several Bosch 800 refrigerators feature dual compressors and dual evaporators.
The thermostat works in tandem with Home Connect, Bosch’s smart home automation platform, to notify you on your preferred mobile device if the door has been accidentally left open. All day and all night, Home Connect analyzes temperature, usage, and power data from the refrigerator to detect potential issues. If the refrigerator’s diagnostic system senses there is a problem, then you can easily reach out to a Bosch representative through Home Connect at your convenience.
Check Out More Bosch Content From Refrigerator HQ
Bosch Refrigerator Reviews
Looking to get the skinny on Bosch refrigerators? We’ve got detailed reviews of models in the 800 series and much more. As new Bosch products make their debut, we’ll keep adding to our collection of reviews.
The Ultimate Bosch B36CL80ENS 20.5-Cu. Ft. French Door Bottom Mount Refrigerator Review
The Ultimate Bosch B36CL80SNS 20.5-Cu. Ft. French Door Bottom Mount Refrigerator Review
The Ultimate Bosch B36CT80SNB 20.8-Cu. Ft. French Door Bottom Mount Refrigerator Review
Bosch Refrigerator Roundups
If you’re looking for the best Bosch refrigerators available today, then you’ll find this section to be quite useful. In here, you’ll see popular options for several different categories of Bosch refrigerators, including top-freezer models, bottom-freezer models, models with French doors, Bosch side-by-side refrigerators, and more.
Bosch 800 Series Refrigerators Reviewed
Bosch Refrigerator Press Releases
Are you looking to stay in the loop on all of the latest Bosch news? Whenever something big breaks, we’ll show you new Bosch press releases to keep you informed. You can view all of Bosch’s press releases on the Bosch website.
Bosch Refrigerator Recalls
In this section, you’ll find current information on Bosch refrigerator recalls. For each recall, we’ll give you replacement recommendations and give you all of the possible reasons for why Bosch might have decided to recall the refrigerator model in question. You can view all of Bosch’s product recalls on the Bosch website.
Where To Buy
Most large online retailers carry a wide variety of Bosch refrigerators and other Bosch appliances. When you click any of the links below, you’ll be taken to a full selection of Bosch products. While the recommendations below should all give you a wide selection to browse, some of the retailers listed specialize more in certain categories than others.
Deals
We love sourcing great deals on every Bosch product under the sun, but we can also help you save by pointing you to some affiliates of ours that might be offering special discounts right now. Before you pick up a Bosch refrigerator, check out our menu of links below to see if any of these sites have markdowns on models in the 800 series.
Similar Brands
Although we have put in a comprehensive effort to give you loads of information on Bosch refrigerators and other products, we are also happy to give you recommendations for similar items from other top companies. For premium refrigerators and other home appliances, take a look at General Electric and Galanz, too.
- Whirlpool
- Samsung
- LG
- GE
- Frigidaire
- Kenmore
- KitchenAid
- Maytag
- Cafe769
- Amana
- Jenna
- SMEG
- Hisense
- Electrolux
- Magic Chef
- Haier
- Galanz
- FORNO
Online Presence
The global Bosch website has several brand and location pages that contain information on the company’s refrigerators, security systems, and other products. In addition, this site has a lot of information and updates regarding Bosch’s newest technological breakthroughs.
Contact Information
As a current or prospective Bosch product owner, you have multiple ways to reach out to the company. Here is all of the information you’ll need to get hold of a responsive Bosch customer service representative on demand.
The contact page on Bosch’s website has a simple form that you can fill out to contact the company by email. Bosch Contact Page.
To speak with Bosch support by phone, dial 1-917-421-7209. This phone line is open 24 hours per day.
Next to the email form on Bosch’s Contact page, there is a Chat tab that you can click to start a live chat session with a customer service specialist. Just like the phone line, the live chat line is open 24 hours per day. Bosch Live Chat.