Walter Hacki, General Manager of the Bosch Packaging Technology plant in Hangzhou (China): "Local presence with technical know-how is the key to success"

Mr. Häcki, you have been the General Manager of Bosch, Hangzhou for the past three years. Can innovations be transferred from Europe to China without any adjustments?

No, at least not exclusively. It is also not enough to just have a local sales and service unit. Instead, we must produce local products for local needs. This requires local development and local suppliers. In my eyes being present with local technical know-how is the key factor to global success. Bosch Packaging Technology fully endorses this approach as part of our corporate strategy.

How many development engineers are currently employed at your plant?

Currently, we have a total staff of almost 400 associates; at least 80 of them are experts in development and construction.

I guess it’s not easy to find qualified engineers in a country that offers so many opportunities for highly qualified people?

That’s true. The challenge is twofold: finding them and developing their potential. In China we are engaged in systematic personnel marketing. We visit universities on a regular basis. I myself lecture at the Zhejiang University of Commerce. We also offer internships and project work and invite students to our plant. Without qualified local staff, we will never be able to reach our ambitious targets in China. That’s why we prefer to establish our sites in regions with a good infrastructure, also in terms of education.

How do you motivate talented Chinese people to work for Bosch Packaging Technology?

There are plenty of possibilities. One of course is the motivation of associates through their salaries, but money isn’t everything. As one third of Chinese people are now familiar with Bosch the brand offers another motivating factor to employees. Closely related to the brand are our values, such as future orientation, fairness and trust. These values are recognized by all associates and applied all over the Bosch world. This is something our people can work with. The Bosch values are convincing. Our associates are highly identified with them. In addition to our corporate values we offer our associates extensive trainings opportunities such as tailored programs for specialists or managers to develop their potential. Those programs focus on management and leadership skills, foreign languages and, of course, special knowledge about our product portfolio. Besides, we provide long term career development plans to our associates, for our junior staff already at the very beginning of their career. Such plans can also include international assignments to gain experience abroad. Our aim is to work successfully in a world-wide development and production network. This requires a thorough knowledge and understanding of different cultures.

How about your executive staff today – is the majority Chinese or European?

80 percent of management staff at Bosch’s Packaging site in Hangzhou are Chinese. Our local managers and specialists are an essential factor for our success. They know the ins and outs of the market and help us to boost our potential for local growth.

Countries such as Germany or Switzerland very much count on apprentice training and continuously improve this. Do you do the same?

In fact, yes, we do. Each year, we hire about ten young people who are trained directly in our company. Bosch has a central apprentice workshop for such apprenticeships in Suzhou, near Shanghai, which is not far from our location in Hangzhou. The provided trainings are first class, and comparable with German standards. Our young people are given basic training in mechanics, they learn how to operate machine tools and they work with the latest technology.

This year, Hangzhou is celebrating its 10-year anniversary, and the 125th anniversary of the Robert Bosch Group. How do you personally feel about these milestones?

I am proud of what we have achieved. Bosch established its presence in China earlier than in any other Asian country – at a time when globalization was never heard of. The first trading office was opened in Shanghai as early as 1909. Ten years ago, we founded our Packaging plant in Hangzhou. Since then we have contributed to the economic prosperity of this country in many respects. Our machines ensure that food is safely packed and preserved – we are known for high product quality. The range is wide: candy wrappers, chocolate bars, milk powder bags. Also, we play an important role for China’s healthcare industry because our machines reliably and accurately filling and package drugs, including life saving drugs. That is exactly what the company’s slogan “Invented for Life” stands for. In this respect, we consider ourselves as partners for China’s modernization policy. And what I am particularly proud of are our almost 400 employees, who make this business success possible.

The Bosch division Packaging Technology, based in Waiblingen (Germany), is one of the leading suppliers in the field of packaging technology. In 16 countries worldwide it develops and produces complete systems in packaging and process technology for the pharmaceutical, confectionery and food industries. Customized system solutions complete the service package. Bosch Packaging Technology's sales and service teams operate worldwide.