Deputy Mayor for Digitalization Vladimir Danailov Presented the Special Award at Automotive Cluster Bulgaria’s First Annual Awards
Eight years after its founding, Automotive Cluster Bulgaria presented its first awards honouring contribution and investment in the automotive sector in Bulgaria within its annual Gala Meeting. The ceremony was held in Sofia Tech Park, the John Atanasoff Innovation Forum, in the presence of Mr. Rosen Plevneliev, President of the Republic of Bulgaria (2012-2017) and Member of the Cluster Board, Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Tomislav Donchev, Minister of Labour and Social Policy Ms. Denitsa Sacheva, Deputy Minister of Economy Mr. Lachezar Borisov, and others.
At the invitation of the Cluster, the Annual Gala was also attended by Mr. Vladimir Danailov, Deputy Mayor of Sofia for Digitalisation, Innovation, and Economic Development. He presented the prize in the “Special Award of the Automotive Cluster Bulgaria”category .
The automotive industry expects continued growth and record results in 2020. The latest industry figures were noted at the ceremony:
– 65,000 are employed in the automotive industry in our country (up from 9,000 in 2012 when the Cluster was created)
– BGN 10 billion industry turnover (BGN 2 billion in 2012)
– The Cluster started with 20 companies, today there are over 250 organisations, including all technical universities in Bulgaria and the technical universities of Vienna and Stuttgart
Here is a list of all winning companies in the different categories:
– Investment of the year – ETEM Gestamp plant
– Industrial Development Investment – BOSCH Engineering Center in Sofia
– High-tech product – Melexis (micro-electronic semiconductor solutions)
– Best HR Practice of the Year – Festo
– R&D Solution of the Year – Visteon (Active Drive Assist)
– Automotive Support Company – EY Bulgaria
– Local Investment – RAIS
– Special award of the Board of Automotive Cluster Bulgaria – Manpower Bulgaria
– Educational institution with the largest contribution to the industry – Technical University Sofia
A video recording of the ceremony is available here.
