ABB opens its newest factory in Bulgaria, just eleven months after the official start of the construction. The total size of the building is 7,400 sq. m. and will create an additional 420 jobs for manufacturing of electrification products. The facilities include 3,500 sq. m. production site, 1,500 sq. m. administration and 2,400 sq. m. logistics and dispatching zones for distribution of products.
This factory represents a $4.2 million (7 million leva) greenfield investment and it is built next to the first production unit of ABB in Petrich. The new factory offers modern working places for welding, pre-assembly, final assembly and testing, divided into both manual and semi-automated operations.
"ABB's fifth factory in Bulgaria with 420 new jobs, 130 of which have already been hired in the last month. Keep building a sixth one and I think this is the way we fight recession - with new jobs and skilled workforce,” said Boyko Borissov, Prime-Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria.
“During the last 25 years, ABB invested over $130 million (230 million leva) in Bulgaria, and this factory is another proof of the consistent course of development of our company in the country,” said Marcel van der Hoek, Country Managing Director of ABB in Bulgaria, and added. “Beyond that, we partner with schools and universities to support the education around our factories and deliver cutting-edge solutions to industrial, building and transportation customers across the country.”
ABB’s first production unit in Petrich was built in 1996 on a total area of 5,000 sq. m. The Petrich branch produces low-voltage control products and DIN rail mounted products. The factory’s customers are ABB companies from Germany, Italy and Switzerland.
According to Oliver Iltisberger, Global Director for ABB’s Smart Buildings business, “The expansion of the Petrich production, with a second factory, is only possible because of the excellent work of the local team, the on-time delivery and the exceptional quality of production here. It’s great to see that the Electrification business is extending its production capabilities to deliver safer, more sustainable and smarter products, that will bring value for our customers across the world.”
“The new factory is a major milestone for ABB in Petrich, creating a solid bridge between the proven quality of the production here and the growing digital spirt of ABB. Huge thanks to the whole team that made this project possible,” said Dessislava Mihtarska, Branch Manager of the new factory.
In addition to both production facilities in Petrich, ABB also has two factories for low- and medium-voltage products in Rakovski and a high-voltage production unit in Sevlievo. A modern service station for Turbochargers is located in Varna and serves both the Bulgarian and Romanian coasts of the Black Sea. ABB’s main office in Bulgaria is located in Sofia. The company employs over 2,800 employees in the country.
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a technology leader that is driving the digital transformation of industries. With a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB has four customer-focused, globally leading businesses: Electrification, Industrial Automation, Motion, and Robotics & Discrete Automation, supported by the ABB Ability™ digital platform. ABB’s Power Grids business will be divested to Hitachi in 2020. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 147,000 employees. www.abb.com
