Teklas to expand its business in Bulgaria

MachinesBusinessSouth-East European INDUSTRIAL Мarket - issue 3/2017

Teklas to expand its business in Bulgaria

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced it was going to provide a EUR 20 million loan to the Bulgarian subsidiary of Teklas Kaucuk, based in Kardzhali. Teklas is a Turkish manufacturer of fluid circulation systems and anti-vibration parts for automotive applications.

The investment project will support the company’s further expansion in Bulgaria after in 2012 EBRD provided a smaller loan (EUR 6 million) for the modernization and initial expansion of the facility.

The Bulgarian unit of Teklas is its largest subsidiary and has over 1800 people staff. It plans to establish a research and development center to further develop its technological capacity, EBRD reported. The expansion project also includes the building of a new manufacturing unit for high-precision metal tubes.

The main purpose of the investment is to increase the production capacity of Teklas in Bulgaria in response to the growing demand. A part of the financing will be used for the refurbishment of the company’s plant in Serbia, to further strengthen the company’s business positions in the area.

Teklas was founded in 1971 in Turkey. Nowadays the company operates a total of nine production facilities in five countries: Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Mexico and China. Among its clients are major global carmakers such as General Motors, Volkswagen, Volvo, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Renault.

"Teklas Bulgaria is an anchor for the town of Kardzhali and the country’s southern region. Its further expansion - and the EBRD’s continuous support - means economic growth and employment.

We welcome in particular Teklas commitment to training local engineers and technicians for the new R&D centre through education programmes and know-how training", Larisa Manastirli, EBRD Director for Bulgaria, commented.

"As Teklas, we are pleased to strengthen our relations with the EBRD, which has played an important role in our success story in Bulgaria since the start of our relationship in 2012.

Our aim is to manage increasing customer expectations with our cutting-edge technologies and provide innovative ideas from our R&D centre considering the latest trends", Nebi Anil, the CEO of Teklas, added.

Top