Bosch Thermotechnology strengthens German production site for solar thermal systems

· Construction of an additional production hall at Wettringen

· New hall scheduled to be taken into service in late 2008

· Total global capacity increases by almost 20 percent to 350,000 collectors and over 800,000 square metres of collector surface per year

Bosch Thermotechnology will invest in a new production hall in Wettringen to boost its total annual production capacity to 350,000 solar collectors. The flat collectors, which use solar heat for domestic water heating and heating support, are marketed under Bosch Thermotechnology’s international and regional brands such as Buderus and Junkers.

Starting 2009, 200,000 high-performance collectors per year can be produced at Wettringen. The capacity expansion by 50,000 collectors will be enabled by a new production hall that is currently being built by Bosch Solarthermie GmbH, which operated under the name of Solar Diamant Systemtechnik GmbH until June 30, 2008. An amount of roughly EUR 5 million will be invested in Wettringen. In addition to the new production hall, a new administrative building is scheduled for completion in June 2009. The number of employees in Wettringen has increased by 25 percent to over 200 within the space of only one year.

Bosch Thermotechnology also produces solar thermal systems at its plant in Aveiro, Portugal, which was opened in 2007 and has an annual production capacity of up to 150,000 collectors. The capacity expansion in Wettringen will strengthen Bosch Thermotechnology’s Renewable Energies unit and boost its total production capacity to 350,000 collectors per year. Renewable energy systems accounted for twelve percent of the Bosch subsidiary’s total 2007 sales revenues. This share is projected to increase to 30 percent by the year 2015.