October 27 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian manufacturer of power supply systems IPS plans to build two factories abroad in the next two to three years to bring production and after-sale services closer to its key customers, CEO Alexander Rangelov told SeeNews on Friday.
Sofia-based IPS also plans to add a factory in its home country over the same time span, Rangelov said in an e-mailed interview with SeeNews.
Currently, IPS administration, trade department, the R&D department as well as part of manufacturing operations are based in Sofia. Part of IPS production has been outsourced, as the company's production capacity is limited, Rangelov said.
IPS employs about 90 in Sofia and plans to hire a further 50 by end of 2019.
"The other [two] factories are planned to be built close to our strongest markets - Africa and the Middle East. On the one hand, this will reduce our production and transport costs, and, on the other, it will make after-sale customer service easier and more accessible for clients," Rangelov said.
"Our focus is now on the new factory in Kardzhali, where we concentrate our energy," Rangelov added.
In September, IPS started the construction of a 32 million levs ($19.2 million/16.3 million euro) factory in the city of Kardzhali, in southern Bulgaria, the local government said at the time.
The new factory will produce systems and components for electricity generation and energy storage. The first stage of the factory will be operational in the summer of 2018, while the second stage is scheduled for completion in 2019. The total number of new job openings could reach 600 after the project is completed.
"Kardzhali is a region that, according to our preliminary explorations, has a number of specialists in different areas, including engineers. An objective precondition for the selection of Kardzhali for building our first factory is the fact that the company owns land in the city," Rangelov noted, adding that the investment has received the full support and assistance of the local government.
Currently, the company is selling its products in 56 countries, mainly in Africa and the Middle East. The company's flagship EXERON product - a modular power supply system for control and conversion of various power sources, energy storage and electrification, is used in the areas of telecommunications, energy and oil production.
IPS has a wide range of power supply products in its portfolio, which can be divided into several categories: inverters, rectifiers and hybrid systems. The factory in Kardzhali will be manufacturing modules for EXERON.
"There is high demand for all-around solutions for electrification from renewable sources, which makes the market dynamic and highly competitive. A company can survive in such a market only by continuously striving for development and new products. And this is our strongest side," Rangelov noted.
IPS is 63%-owned by Sofia-based Power Technology Investment Group, according to data from the Bulgarian Commercial Registry.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)