The technology and services company Bosch has presented the "Bosch Supplier Award" to its top suppliers. A total of 60 suppliers from 14 countries received an award in one of seven categories. The Bosch award recognizes companies that have performed particularly well in manufacturing and supplying products or services over the past two years - especially in terms of quality, pricing, reliability, technology and continuous improvement. "The Bosch Supplier Award goes to outstanding suppliers who play a key role in the Bosch Group's success and work with us on the ongoing further development and improvement of our products and manufacturing processes," said Franz Fehrenbach, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, at the presentation ceremony on July 19, 2011 at Stuttgart's Alte Reithalle.

Bosch confers its global supplier award every two years. This is the 12th time it has been presented since 1987. There were no awards in 2009 due to the global financial and economic crisis. One company has now won the Bosch Supplier Award 12 times, nine companies have won it at least five times, while 29 companies have received it at least twice. The 2011 recipients come from more countries than ever before, with 31 of the 60 award-winning companies headquartered outside Germany and 15 in Asia. This year also saw the introduction of the "Regions" category for suppliers across the globe that primarily supply Bosch locations locally from their respective regions. "This is in line with our strategy of further expanding local supplier contacts on all continents, and especially in the emerging markets in Asia, Mexico, and South America that are enjoying strong growth," said Dr. Rudolf Colm, the Bosch board of management member responsible for purchasing and logistics.

Four Japanese SMEs also received awards in recognition of their exemplary support in ensuring that Bosch has been able continue to supply reliably in recent months, despite the substantial difficulties caused by the grave disasters in Japan. The full list of award-winning supplies is available at the website below.