EBERSPAECHER GROWS IN BULGARIA
Eberspaecher decided to manufacture electrical heaters in Bulgaria: A new production plant will be built in Ruse, near the Romanian border, by late summer 2023. In taking this step, the automotive supplier is responding to the strong increase in demand in the European market.
Visualization of the new Eberspaecher plant for electrical heaters in Ruse, Bulgaria.
- Growth with e-mobility
- Construction of production plant for electrical heaters and electronics
- Up to 150 employees in the medium term and long term up to 500
“Newly won orders with start of production in the next years and a strong increase in demand for electrical heaters have driven the expansion of our production capacities”, explains Dr. Joerg Schernikau, COO of Climate Controls Systems and Automotive Controls. “We are excited to have this growth be realized in the form of a new production plant in Ruse”, adds Schernikau.
When choosing the site, the thermal management experts were convinced by the very good transport connections. The country’s fifth-largest city is located right on the border with Romania, less than one hundred kilometers from Bucharest. In addition, skilled workers are available through the local technical university. The newly founded subsidiary Eberspaecher Bulgaria will be responsible for the local activities.
Pencho Milkov, Mayor of Ruse stated his satisfaction: “I’m very grateful that Eberspaecher chooses exactly our city to set its new production plant. Our city is proud with its great production traditions also in the automotive industry so this new plant will fit perfectly into our business environment.”
Concerning the mobility of tomorrow, he adds: “Electric and hybrid cars are undoubtedly the future of the global transport system, so I believe that the positive effects of the investment will be observed, simultaneously for the company and for the citizens of Ruse and the region."
Growth with products for e-mobility
In Ruse’s Industrial Zone Slatina, in the east of the city, Eberspaecher selected a plot of land measuring around 80,000 square meters. A new building will be realized in the coming months, so that production of low-voltage and high-voltage heaters can start by end of 2023.
In order to support the high demands of the markets, an interim solution for production will start already in Ruse from January 2023 on, until the final close by new building will be available.
The products will, for example, go on to be used in e-vehicles and plug-in hybrid models for the European market. The necessary electronic control units will also be manufactured directly on site. To this end, the Electrical Heaters and Automotive Electronics Business Units within the Eberspaecher Group are working closely together. When production starts, the team in Ruse will have around 150 employees. In the coming years staff will grow up to 500 employees in Ruse.
Continuous expansion of manufacturing operations globally
With the new site, Eberspaecher is purposefully expanding its manufacturing operations for both electrical heaters and automotive electronics. The Electrical Heaters Business Unit grew from Herxheim in Germany (where production started in 1998), with production sites in China (Beijing/Tianjin) and Poland (Olawa).
Eberspaecher has been manufacturing the core technology of the heaters, the PTC ceramics, in Hermsdorf, Germany, since 2016. Automotive Electronics has so far produced the electronic control units in Germany, (Landau, since 2001) and China (Tianjin, since 2019).
Due to the growing market for battery-electric passenger cars, Eberspaecher expects demand for electrical heaters to rise sharply in the coming years. To date, around four million vehicles worldwide are already equipped with Eberspaecher’s high-voltage heaters as well as electronic control units.
www.eberspaecher.com
