What links the Bosch Group to the Budapest National Theater, the Swiss Alps, an orphanage in the Philippines, and Stanford University? Can you picture the house where the company founder was born? Why are people baking cookies at Bosch? Who is the longest-serving associate? What kind of competition is the “cordless screwdriver race”? These and many other fascinating Bosch stories from all over the world are told and illustrated in the book “Global Impressions of Bosch” – a unique kaleidoscope of 125 photographs from 125 places around the world, all taken at exactly the same instant.

The world of Bosch condensed into one second

    The idea for this demanding project arose from the desire to create a fitting portrait of the company for its 125th anniversary in 2011 – a huge challenge, given its 280,000 associates at more than 300 locations in over 150 countries. But the project’s ambitions were higher still: it aimed to capture an authentic snapshot that does justice not only to the Bosch Group’s culture, its people, products, and technologies, but also portrays the company’s traditions and its future prospects.

    The preparations for that single moment lasted over two years and involved more than 1,000 people from over 40 countries. Choices had to be made from around 400 suggested topics and from the portfolios of 800 international photo journalists. The photographers themselves drafted and signed up to a code of honor that they would press the shutter release button on their cameras at exactly the same moment, regardless of whether it was 11 a.m. in Schwieberdingen, Germany, 6 a.m. in Campinas, Brazil, or 7 p.m. in Clayton, Australia.

    The moment finally came on May 20, 2010, at precisely 11 a.m. Central European Time: around the world, 125 photographers were standing at the ready. The project team in Stuttgart held their breath. It was all up to the photographers now – weather permitting… What to do if there was fog in Scotland, a hurricane in the tropics, or heavy snow on the Matterhorn?

Click. One second of Bosch.

    We can reveal this much to you now: the undertaking was a success and 125 wonderful, sometimes moving, often surprising, amusing, and warm-hearted, but above all thrilling photographs were created. Together, they give an impressive sense of the diversity of Bosch, and they are accompanied by text in the ten languages that are most spoken by customers and associates around the world. A global book for a global company.

We’ll let you discover the rest of the story for yourselves! The book

    “Global Impressions of Bosch” will be presented personally to each of the more than 280,000 associates to mark the 125th anniversary, and it will also be given to customers, members of the press, partners, and friends of the company. It is both a means of saying thank you and a bold and encouraging statement for the future of the Bosch Group.