Sofia Privatization and Investment Agency received a crystal plaque in the category Municipality at the annual Investor of the Year 2016 awards organized by the Bulgarian Investment Agency.
The executive director of Sofia Privatization and Investment Agency, Mr. Vladimir Danailov received the award at a gala held on February 23 at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia.
The other two awards in the Municipality category went to the municipalities of Maritsa (Plovdiv) and Dimitrovgrad.
After receiving the award, Mr. Danailov promised to continue the work for attracting new investors and finding new markets for the business in Sofia and Bulgaria. He expressed a special gratitude to Sofia Investment and Privatization Agency’s team for their hard work.
The Investor of the Year 2016 award went to Sensata Technologies for its investment of 90 million leva and 2800 new jobs. The company, which already operates in Sofia and Botevgrad, is a world leader in the production of mission-critical sensors for the automotive industry. Among its clients are global automotive giants like Volkswagen, Volvo, Fiat, General Motors and others. Sensata is planning to build its biggest production facility in Europe and the second biggest in the world in Bulgaria.
The other two Investor of the Year nominated projects were of Hamberger Bulgaria and Yazaki Bulgaria. Hamberger operates on the Bulgarian market since 2003 and produces sanitary products. Yazaki has been in the country since 2006 and produces sensors for the automotive industry.
In the category Green Investment the award went to Osram, Plovdiv District for the planned investment of 45 million leva and 900 new jobs. The German company first entered the country in 1998 with its first factory in Eastern Europa.
The award for Innovative Business went to Teklas Bulgaria, Kardjali. The company operates in Bulgaria since 2006 and recently opened its third production facility. The investment amount is 20 million leva. The company also announced its plans to open 2 more factories in the country in Kurdjali and Krumovgrad in the near future.
The award for Business Expansion went to Lufthansa Technik Sofia and Bulgaria Air Maintenance. The joint-company will expand its existing facility for aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) with a total investment of 70 million leva and 165 new jobs.
Integrated Microelectronics Bulgaria, Botevgrad received an award for investment in human capital. In 2017 the company invested 7.6 million leva and created 400 new jobs.
The Bulgarian Investment Agency gave awards to two other companies. Course Dot were noted as the start-up of the year and Asarel-Medet, Panagyurishte was recognized for its CSR activities and investments in the local community.