November 20 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian bathroom sanitary ware manufacturer Ideal Standard-Vidima, part of Belgium-based Ideal Standard International, said that it has inaugurated its upgraded plant for sanitary fittings in Sevlievo.
The modernisation of the plant, which included automation of manufacturing processes, was carried out as part of the company's 62 million levs ($35 million/32 million euro) three-year investment programme, Ideal Standard-Vidima said in a press release on Tuesday.
The upgrade will increase the plant's production capacity to over 6.5 million sanitary fittings per year.
Ideal Standard-Vidima employs over 3000 people at the plant, Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borissov said at the official opening ceremony.
The plant in Sevlievo, in north-central Bulgaria, is unique for the country and the biggest in Europe, Torsten Turling, CEO of Ideal Standard International, said in the press release.
Ideal Standart International has invested over 300 million levs in Ideal Standard-Vidima since 1992. The group has created over 3200 jobs in Bulgaria, Turling added.
In July, Ideal-Standard Vidima said that its consolidated net profit fell to 502,000 levs in 2018 from 2.5 million levs the year before, despite higher revenue. Ideal Standard-Vidima's sales grew to 410.7 million levs last year from 390.9 million levs in 2017.
Ideal Standard-Vidima consolidates the results of its subsidiary Amstan Hotels.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)