Bosch and Brabant: both a cradle and a breeding ground for transmission technology

The Tilburg-based Bosch Transmission Technology is the very cradle of continuously variabletransmissions (CVT), with the company leading the market globally for pushbelts for automatic transmissions in cars. In 2012 annual production amounted to 4.5 million pushbelts, double the number the company turned out five years ago. Bosch Transmission Technology and Brabant have grown together, with the region proving to be an excellent breeding ground for a company constantly working on innovations that are employed around the world in the automotive industry.

The Bosch Transmission Technology CVT concept has been the international standard for automatic transmissions in the automotive industry for years, and over 300 models from a wide range of marques are fitted with this Brabant-designed CVT technology. “Aside from Europe, demand for our product has been growing in Asia and the US in particular,” says Bosch Transmission Technology Senior Vice President Coen Rooijmans. “Driving pleasure and cutting both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions remain important issues in the auto industry, which makes our concept very appealing. Thanks to our product’s flexibility and adaptability, we can fit both gas and diesel cars as well as hybrid vehicles with it.”

New concepts
Bosch Transmission Technology clients include not only carmakers but also leading transmission manufacturers such as JATCO and Punch Powertrain. “We work very closely with these companies,” 

says Rooijmans. “You could label our approach as being from the regular through to customized. We work on the basis of a number of standard solutions, which we then enhance according to customer-specific requirements.” In Tilburg our staff are continuously working on new CVT developments. “We have taken on a pioneering role, which is why our funding of research and development is so considerable,” says Rooijmans. “Of the over 1,300 people working here, almost 10% spend their time on product improvement and innovations. Evermore high-tech systems are being created, and we supply the knowledge and components for them.”

Further growth
Thanks to the dramatic increase in demand for CVT pushbelts and the need for greater innovation, Bosch Transmission Technology will be spending over 100 million euros between now and 2016 on increasing production capacity and implementing new technologies. “This will allow us to develop and manufacture the next generation of pushbelts,” is how the senior vice president expressed his confidence in the future. “They will be even lighter and more energy efficient than they already are.”

Along with the growth that Bosch Transmission Technology is experiencing, the company’s foundation in Brabant is becoming ever stronger. “We have everything here that our business requires,” says Rooijmans. “A network of leading high-tech companies, a strong automotive industry, well-trained engineers who are also internationally oriented and a variety of universities with which we work closely. In addition, Brabant has an excellent infrastructure, and we are close to international ports and airports. There is a good reason why Bosch Transmission Technology and Brabant have grown together.”