German company Bosch has opened a new research and development centre in Romania, in the Tetarom II industrial park near Cluj-Napoca, after having sent its engineers abroad for training.

The new R&D centre will employ 325 people by the end of the year, and the hiring process will continue in 2014.

Meanwhile, Bosch has started testing and delivering the first products made at their production unit in Cluj, whose official opening will take place next year. By the end of the year, 325 employees will work in production and research in the new centre, which covers 38,000 sqm, according to the company.

Researchers at Bosch's facility in Romania are working on sustainable solutions for producing and using electricity from renewable sources and implementing embedded solutions for photovoltaic inverters. Romanian engineers are also currently working on developing processing algorithms for images to be used in advance driving assistance systems, in order to develop automated, accident - free driving solutions.

The work also focuses on assisted parking, automated braking and manoeuvres, according to Bosch, which has invested some EUR 77 million in its centre at Jucu, near Cluj-Napoca. The unit there produces electronic command units, semiconductors and sensors for the car industry, as well as for other industries.

Bosch has 1,400 employees in Romania, in Bucharest, at Blaj, Cluj and Timisoara, and hopes to up staff to 2,000 by the end of this year.

editor@romania-insider.com