The Bulgarian market provides a favorable environment for companies in terms of resource availability, macroeconomic stability and legal framework, operating in the various manufacturing and engineering sub-sectors. Traditionally, international and local FMCG producers (food, beverages, pharmaceutical, tobacco, cosmetics, etc.) have been showcasing their production units in Bulgaria very strongly.
Bulgaria offers a combination of political and macroeconomic stability and incentives for doing business :
Stable parliamentary democracy , EU, NATO and WTO member.
Bulgaria’s currency is fixed to the Euro under a currency board arrangement. There are no currency fluctuations due to a currency board, introduced in 1997 – the Bulgarian Lev is pegged at 1.95583 to the Euro.
Since 2000, there has been steady growth in the electrical engineering and electronics sector in Bulgaria . More than 75% of the production of the Electronics manufactured in Bulgaria is exported . The EU countries, Russia and CIS, USA, are key markets for Bulgarian electronics manufacturing. Wires and cables represent 25% of the total sector exports, followed by industrial batteries with 11% of the exported production and electrical apparatuses with 8% of the export. Over the past few years, the export mix has shifted to goods with higher added value which requires more engineering skills.
A number of large international companies like Siemens, Schneider Electric, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Liebherr, ABB have discovered Bulgaria as the best destination for their business in Eastern Europe Many successful Bulgarian owned companies operating in the sector, offering competitive products worldwide. The combination of local and multinational companies is creating a unique environment where productivity and innovation in electronics manufacturing are thriving.
Bulgaria offers qualified and experienced workforce for the needs of electrical engineering and electronics industry – from assembly workers to highly qualified engineers. Workforce in the industry is available all over the country at the most competitive cost in Europe. Bulgarian technical high schools and universities are working together with the companies in the sector to create future qualified workforce.
Bulgaria has 10% corporate income tax rate and 10% personal income tax, flat rate – the lowest in the EU .
Bulgaria is crossed by five major Trans European corridors , providing easy access to regional and European markets. Two of the largest ports at the Black Sea, Varna and Burgas are located in Bulgaria, both connected to the trans-European corridor VIII, which links the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea.
Bulgaria offers well developed electricity and gas infrastructure and at the same time and utility prices are among the lowest in Europe. There are 12 functioning industrial zones and 26 more under development, all of them suitable for manufacturing companies. Infrastructure development is a priority for the Bulgarian government.
Bulgaria has competitive advantages in the region with a strong macroeconomic and financial performance.
Bulgaria has a long tradition in several mechanical engineering and industrial sectors. The country has established traditions in manufacturing and construction or:
- heavy machinery;
- agricultural machinery;
- cutting machines and metal prossesing;
- equipment for the chemical industry;
- lifting equipment;
- machine tools;
- pumps, compressors and hydraulic cylinders;
- stainless steel products, metal structures;
- standard and non-standard equipment for the food industry;
- naval products;
- repair and maintenance of aircraft parts;
- ferrous and non-ferrous metals;
- weapons and ammunition;
- engine parts and accessories.
Many specialists trained at technical universities in the country and abroad, as well as skilled workers practice their highly professional skills as:
- machining parts, milling;
- cold plastic deformation,
- compression and folding,
- arc welding,
- laser cutting for the everyday
Bulgarian companies have been on the European and American markets for years of manufacturing health, wellness, swimming pools and ventilation products.
The largest companies Montuped, Gammer, M + S Hydraulic, Ixetic, SKF, Latecoere, Shneider, Opel have invested with great confidence in Bulgaria.
Young professionals and engineers, for years, have been developing software for the largest banks in Switzerland, as well as for multinational companies around the world.
What is manufactured in Bulgaria?
- World class batteries for submarines, yachts, trains, airplanes, helicopters, military applications
- High performance transformers for the needs of the electric power industry. Bulgarian manufactured power transformers are provided with the most advanced manufacturing and testing equipment
- High end energy saving sensors for various applications in different industries ranging from automotive through food and beverage production to agriculture equipment
- Top quality amplifiers and high frequency power products used in the radio communication sector
- Wide range of capacitor and capacitor banks used by electrical distribution utilities and large industrial power users
- Latest generation HVAC and climate control equipment used in modern high speed electric trains
- Semiconductors and semiconductor products used in medical, machine building and automotive manufacturing globally by companies such as BMW, GM, Mercedes
- Wire harnesses and cables for the automotive industry in France and Spain
- Top quality household and commercial refrigerators and freezers for the needs of the European market
- Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) and microelectronic components for industrial applications used all over the world
- LED chips and LED lighting equipment according to the modern trends in the lighting industry
Facts:
- Ballasts and lighting equipment manufactured by the Bulgarian company Electrostart are used in the lighting of historic monuments in Peru, including the legendary “lost city of the Incas” Machu Picchu.
- Siemens chose Bulgaria to build its Center for House Automation Systems and Conventional Energy Sources.
- The Bulgarian ELKA 6521 was the first European electronic calculator. ELKA 6521 was among the most popular electronic calculators in Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1975 Bulgaria exported more than 30 000 electronic calculators ELKA for Switzerland.
- The Bulgarian born NASA engineer and scientist Peter Petroff invented the digital watch and the wireless heart monitor in the 1960s.
- The first electronic computing machine was created by John Atanasoff, an American scientist of Bulgarian descent.
- Yazaki Bulgaria is the leading supplier of electric wire harnesses for the automotive industries in France and Spain.
- Submarine batteries weighing more than 300 tons are manufactured by the US company EnerSys in the Bulgarian city of Targovishte.