High customs duties were the decisive factor in the Franco-German joint project Lavalette-Bosch initiated in 1928. Until 1914, Bosch had supplied large numbers of its products to foreign countries.

With the outbreak of the First World War, the most important of these markets were lost: France and Great Britain from 1914, and the USA from 1917 onwards. Attempts to re-establish footholds in these countries after the war were scotched by their import restrictions. These made profitable imports virtually impossible. The solution seemed to be production on the spot. So Bosch was delighted to accept the offer made by Count Lavalette in 1928 to manufacture automobile accessories in France under licence from Bosch. The Atéliers de Construction Lavalette also took over distribution of Bosch products in France. To manufacture the goods under the brand name "Lavalette-Bosch", a new factory building was constructed in 1930 on Rue Michelet in St. Ouen near Paris. This was to remain the headquarters of Lavalette for several decades.

Dark clouds and a new beginning

When, in the late 1930’s, the tender plant of Franco-German relations – also cherished by Robert Bosch – was crushed under the jackboot of political events in National Socialist Germany, this was not without consequences for Lavalette-Bosch. All German employees and members of the supervisory board had to leave their posts in the joint company, and from then on the products only bore the name Lavalette. The Bosch-shares were finally expropriated by the French government in 1947.

Despite the terrible events which occurred during World War Two, Lavalette and Bosch retained their friendly connections. In the early 1950s the former partners had already re-established business contacts. In 1958, the two companies concluded a licence agreement to manufacture automobile accessories. At the same time, Bosch purchased a minority holding in Lavalette. In the course of the re-structuring of its foreign activities in France, Bosch founded Robert Bosch (France) S.A. in 1962 as a distribution company. At the same time, Bosch together with Lavalette and the French company Précision Mécanique Labinal formed a production company called "Les Constructeurs Associés S.A.". This company was taken over by Robert Bosch (France) S.A. in 1966.

The biggest European market

In the meantime, France follows North America as Bosch’s most important market. With a staff of nearly 11,000, Bosch is represented at 19 locations. The headquarters of Robert Bosch (France) S.A. will still be found on Rue Michelet in St. Ouen.