site.btaTurkish Auto Parts Maker Teklas Inaugurates Sixth Bulgarian Plant

An auto components plant of the Turkish company Teklas was inaugurated in Vratsa, Northwestern Bulgaria on Thursday. It is the sixth Teklas plant in Bulgaria and has absorbed an investment of over BGN 20 million. The facility provides 300 jobs for people from Vratsa and three neighbouring municipalities. The intention is to expand production and increase the number of jobs.

Set up in 1971, Teklas runs a network of plants making various car components and automated control systems in Turkiye, Serbia, China, Mexico, the United States and Bulgaria. It works with the world's largest auto makers. Teklas expects to reach BGN 1 billion in total turnover this year, the Bulgarian subsidiary's CEO Nebi Anil said. The company has invested over BGN 190 million in this country, much of it spent on a research centre near Kardzhali, Southern Bulgaria.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Vratsa plant, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said: "Every investment of this size, particularly in this line of manufacturing, is a step forward for the Bulgarian economy."

The President noted: "Bulgaria needs export-oriented high-technology enterprises which generate high added value and contribute substantially to the country's modernization. Teklas has been in acceleration mode ever since it first gained a foothold on the Bulgarian market. Always putting money in innovation, it has become a key player in Bulgaria's auto sector."

The company's research centre near Kardzhali sets the standards for this kind of production, Radev said. "It is worth noting the company's environmental protection policy and its ambition to make its plants energy independent. Its corporate social responsibility and social support for its employees should also be acknowledged," the President said.

Vratsa Mayor Kalin Kamenov and Teklas Bulgaria CEO Nebi Anil gave the symbolic beginning to the plant's manufacturing activity. The official guests were then shown around the manufacturing facility and the roboticized warehouse. The group included Turkish Ambassador to Bulgaria Aylin Sekizkok, Innovation and Growth Minister Alexander Pulev, Kardzhali Mayor Hassan Azis, Kardzhali Regional Governor Daniel Delchev and Vratsa Regional Governor Georgi Mitov. The ceremony ended with the planting of a tree.