With climate targets set for the next several years, the automotive industry is evolving and increasingly focused on electrification and sustainable driving. Bosch Transmission Technology aims to keep pace with this trend and start producing products for this new sales market. Bosch can put its core competencies to good use for these ‘future core’ products. But new challenges inevitably emerge in the process. Employeneur and Process Engineer Sander de Vet was called in to support Bosch. Together with his manager Patrick van Eerd, Technical Director at Bosch, he explains how that has worked out.

New connection technology

“The main sales market for Bosch Transmission Technology in Tilburg is the automotive industry,” Patrick explains. “Sander’s knowledge and expertise was put to good use when it came to accelerating our future core operations.” Sander: “The project I was assigned to at Bosch is contributing to the transition from fuel cars to electric cars. I identified the possible new connection technologies needed for electric motors. I presented a brief proof of concept to the management in late 2022. There was no question that the new connection technology had a lot of potential. So I was given the go-ahead to continue developing the project. The new connection technology is helping TMC and Bosch contribute collectively to a more sustainable society.”

Versatility

Patrick: “In this industry of electrification and sustainable driving, it is vital to develop innovations at a very high speed. Sander is a true engineer. What he has introduced has a high standard and can also keep up with that speed.” Sander: “I have a broad education, which has helped me develop a helicopter view. That makes it very interesting to work for both TMC and Bosch. If I ever want to focus on a different subject, both organizations are open to letting me switch, within Bosch or possibly elsewhere. The fact that this option exists makes it very interesting to me. Apart from that, Bosch is a great entity to work for. There is an open and positive atmosphere and a friendly rapport with colleagues. The culture within the company is largely similar to the culture within TMC. As much as possible, employeneurs of TMC are seen as equal to Bosch’s own people.”

Flexible shell

Patrick: “Because we have a long-term relationship with TMC, they know all too well what type of people we are looking for. They are able to provide highly skilled engineers. Specialists within a particular field, or versatile professionals like Sander. TMC is like a flexible shell for me. It gives me the leeway I need to scale up quickly. What I like about TMC is that they invest in their staff and that employeneurs are also willing to invest in themselves. Not just purely focused on hard skills, but on soft skills as well. There is coaching and training to help people grow and become more versatile in how they can work. If Sander wants to develop a particular competency further, TMC encourages it. They then put the question to us: how can we respond to this together? In the end, Sander, TMC and Bosch all benefit. Conclusion: TMC does not view its employing employeneurs as ‘cash cows’, but sees it as entering into a long-term relationship with them. That has a very positive effect on us as clients. It makes me proud that many TMC employeneurs have been with us for such a long time. Some even for almost five years now!” exclaims Patrick van Eerd.