5 Products Bosch Makes That Aren't Home Appliances

When you hear the name Bosch, your mind might go to the household appliances at your local hardware store. And no wonder: It's one of the most reliable appliance brands around. But home appliances aren't the only thing the company has to offer. As it turns out, the company's product lineup stretches far beyond the kitchen or the laundry room. Looking at its full catalog, you'll find a wide range of products and systems for vehicles, do-it-yourself projects, cleaning, heating and cooling, and smart homes, as well.

Checking out the big picture, Bosch ends up looking like a far more diverse brand than its reputation for home appliances alone would suggest. From auto parts to cordless tools to smart-home controls to security devices, it really makes the brand's home appliance division look like one small piece rather than the whole pie. Let's wrap our heads around the full scope of the Bosch name below, taking a closer look at some of the other major parts of Bosch's product portfolio.

We've already established that Bosch's home appliances are front and center of the brand's image, but if we had to pick a runner-up, it'd probably have to be its automotive category. That's based on the sheer size of its product range. The Bosch Auto Parts name includes advanced driver assistance systems, or ADAS, along with automotive air filters, brakes, starters and alternators, batteries and chargers, and diesel parts.

The company also makes gasoline fuel systems, steering systems, body electronics, and engine management parts. The list continues with spark plugs, tire and chassis components, even wiper blades. These products show that Bosch makes parts associated with both the mechanical and electronic sides of automotive systems. Also underneath the Bosch Auto Parts umbrella: Bosch Diagnostics. So not only is Bosch making the parts, it's giving mechanics the tools they need to troubleshoot, diagnose, and repair the vehicles, as well.

Bosch's power tool division is equally massive. All around the world, the Bosch name covers a wide range of tools for do-it-yourself projects and professional jobs alike. No matter if it's a home maintenance task, a construction job, or a workshop repair, there's an internationally available range of power tools with the Bosch name on the side. It's not some new venture, either: Bosch has been making power tools since 1928.

The company lists cordless tools, drills and screwdrivers, saws, sanders, angle grinders, routers and multi-tools under its product lineup, which is as sizable and varied as any other one of the major cordless power tool brands out there. It also makes air pumps, benchtop tools, mini angle grinders, and planers for more serious tasks. Paint spray guns, heat guns, tackers, glue pens and glue guns, too. Plus, Bluetooth speakers, lights, and SystemBox products, which are like an alternative to Milwaukee's Packout line.

What's the one thing that unites Bosch's home appliances, auto parts, and power tools? The simple fact that all these things can get messy fast. Post-dinner clean-up, oily, greasy car maintenance, sawdust and metal shavings flying all over the workshop... It's all pretty dirty business, to be sure. Lucky for Bosch users, the brand also makes cleaning tools. That includes vacuum cleaners, pressure washers, window vacuums, cleaning brushes, and more.

It's not as big of a division as the other categories mentioned above, but it's not insignificant by any means. Its wet and dry vacuum cleaners, window vacuums, pressure washers, and cleaning brushes all serve very different purposes (and deal with very different messes). Even within such a highly focused category, Bosch gives people multiple types of cleaning tools to choose from depending on the cleaning task at hand. Bosch has the specialized equipment you need to tackle it all.

Bosch also makes other home products outside of what it does for the kitchen, the laundry room, the garage, and the workshop. It also has an assortment of heating and cooling products to its name. The company makes various heat pump systems, water heating systems, gas and oil boilers and furnaces, controls, and air purifiers, too. Bosch also lists dehumidifiers, fans, and water filters for sale under this division.

These products are put out under the Bosch name, first and foremost, but the company's portfolio also includes several other air conditioner brands. They all exist under the umbrella of the "Bosch Home Comfort Group," which includes Buderus, Hitachi, York, and over a dozen others from around the world. Bosch puts out heating and cooling products under these brands. So next time you heat up your kitchen after baking in a Bosch oven, you can then cool off the house with a Bosch fan or AC.

You'll also find a lineup of smart home products that carry the Bosch name. It's yet another major category for the company that has little to do with the traditional appliances you might know them for. The company lists tech from motion detectors to outdoor sirens, smoke alarms to door and window contacts under its smart home banner. Water alarms, smart locks, and indoor and outdoor cameras, too. It's no small venture, clearly. Bosch seems to invest just as much time and energy in smart home products as every other category it touches.

Viewed alongside the other product categories, it's all a pretty significant departure from the basic kitchen appliances people might associate with Bosch. In reality, Bosch has products that touch just about every corner of people's homes: automotive, power tools, cleaning devices, heating and cooling products, the smart-home lineup... all in addition to the Bosch machines people put in their kitchens and laundry rooms.