October 12 (SeeNews) - MonBat, Bulgaria's largest car battery manufacturer, said on Friday it has re-opened its latest acquisition, accumulator batteries plant Start AD, after a six-month upgrade.
Start AD, which will specialise in the production of high-quality accumulator batteries intended for heavy-freight trucks, is expected to produce 200,000 batteries in 2008, MonBat said in a statement.
Start AD, based in Dobrich, northeastern Bulgaria, had capacity of 100,000 accumulator batteries prior to the upgrade.
Earlier this year MonBat said it would spend some 4.33 million euro ($6.14 million) on the acquisition and modernisation of Start AD, which it took over in March.
MonBat, based in Montana, northwestern Bulgaria, plans to invest some 20 million euro by the end of 2008, seeking to become one of the top five battery companies in Europe.
Shares in MonBat, part of the SOFIX blue-chip index of the Sofia bourse, closed at 31.1 levs on Friday, down almost 0.96%.
($ = 0.7054 euro)