May 19 (SeeNews) - Car parts manufacturer Behr-Hella Thermocontrol Bulgaria (BHTC), part of Germany's BHTC, plans to start next year construction of a new plant in Bulgaria, which is expected to be completed by 2028, the economy ministry said.
The new plant is projected to boost the company's turnover to 1 billion levs ($552.9 million/511.2 million euro), the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
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The company has already invested over 260 million levs in its existing plant in Bulgaria, BHTC Bulgaria said in response to a SeeNews enquiry. It, however, did not disclose the size of the investment in its new factory.
As part of its transformation plans, the manufacturer intends to shift its production focus to central information displays (CID), it added.
The company reported sales revenue of 344.8 million levs in 2022, up from 319.2 million levs the previous year.
In 2019, BHTC Bulgaria expanded its production base in Industrial Zone Sofia-Bozhurishte with an investment of 31.6 million levs.
Lippstad-headquartered BHTC also has production facilities in Germany, Finland, the U.S., Mexico, China, Japan and India. The company supplies parts to auto industry giants such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo and Porsche. BHTC entered the Bulgarian market in 2013 and currently employs 667 people in the country.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)