Bosch to close Australian diode manufacturing

Robert Bosch Australia is to close its Clayton, Melbourne factory manufacturing diodes – closing one of the few large scale semiconductor manufacturing operations in the country.

The Melbourne facility is the sole Automotive Diode factory for the Bosch group, supplying up to 60 million diodes annually.

Bosch itself hasn’t been a customer for the Australian made diodes since it sold the alternator business in 2018.

The plant is also one of the few reminders of the automotive electronics manufacturing campus at Clayton where Bosch formerly manufactured automotive computers for Australian car manufacturers – vehicle computers can make up more than a quarter of the value of a new car.

Bosch said in a statement: “As previously announced, Bosch has been actively looking for a buyer for the diode manufacturing business in Australia.

“There has been strong interest from one potential buyer, leading to a lengthy and thorough evaluation of the business by them.

“Unfortunately, however, it has not been possible to reach an agreement with them to purchase the business.

“Consequently, it has been decided to ramp down and close the Diode business in Clayton over the next 18 months.”

There are approximately 90 ‘associates’ employed in the Bosch Diode manufacturing business in Australia and they have been informed of this decision.

The diode manufacturing business survived the demise of automotive manufacturing as part of innovations brokered with the German company by Chairman and President of Bosch Australia, Gavin Smith.

Many of the engineers employed by Bosch in automotive manufacturing were redeployed to a new business conceived by Smith – Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions (BAMS).

The company – the first such business in the Bosch network globally – aimed to capture the company’s manufacturing and specialty machine building knowledge and sell those capabilities as a service to other manufacturers.

BAMS has since become highly successful in building not only machines but automated systems and entire production lines for Australian businesses.

The company business model has now been repeated in other Bosch business overseas, while BAMS itself has engineered production lines for Australian businesses’ overseas operations.

– Peter Roberts

Further reading:
2020 Robert Bosch invests $17 million in Clayton factory
2019 Robert Bosch ups manufacturing tempo

Editor’s note: Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions is a current sponsor of @AuManufacturing’s search to identify and celebrate Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturing companies.

Picture: Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions/automated diode production