More than 60 percent of these sales were generated outside Germany. The Asia-Pacific region, South America, and eastern Europe were regions of growth in the last fiscal year; Asia being the most dynamic region. In India and Japan alone, Bosch increased its sales by more than 35 percent. The growth in sales in Europe, excluding currency effects, was 7 percent; in America it amounted to 5 percent. The number of associates also highlights the positive business development. At the beginning of the year, the Bosch Security Systems division had a total of 10,800 associates worldwide, some 500 more than the previous year. The expansion continued predominantly in Asia and the communication service sector. The number of associates in Germany rose by approximately 50, to a total of about 4,700 associates.

"We want to continue this strong double-digit growth in Asia in 2008 as well," said Uwe Glock, president of the Bosch Security Systems division at the International Fire and Security Exhibition and Conference (IFSEC) in Birmingham. The rapid growth of Bosch in Asia will be supported by the new plant opened in January 2008 in the Chinese city of Zhuhai. In this plant, approximately 1,500 associates develop and manufacture electronic security and communication systems predominantly for the Asian market. In the field of security, the company is not only growing organically, but is also expanding through acquisitions. Bosch acquired Extreme CCTV in February 2008 in order to increase its growth further. The Canadian company, with its Derwent and Forward Vision brands, is one of the leading manufacturers of video-based security technology.

The major growth contributors in 2007 were video monitoring systems, video over IP products, fire detection systems, and evacuation and public address systems. Bosch security solutions are used in various industries in different locations, including banks, city centers, industrial estates, train stations, and airports. Amongst other things, the company equipped St Pancras International, the new Eurostar terminus in London, with modern video monitoring systems, provided extensive security technology to the underground system in Sao Paulo, supplied the Live Earth concert in Hamburg with public address equipment, and installed security solutions for the CBS film studios in Hollywood. Bosch also provides all the security technology for the BMW Event and Delivery Center in Munich.

Last year, Bosch also significantly extended its services activities, creating new sites in Berlin (Germany), Buenos Aires (Argentina), and Timisoara (Romania). With approximately 70,000 security systems connected and more than 23 million procedures executed, the Bosch Communication Center is one of the largest private security control center operators in Germany. The Bosch Communication Center is also one of the leading outsourcing service providers in the call center industry - Bosch offers customers a number of services including invoice verification, reservation services, and a wide range of services to gain and retain customers.