Visit of the H.E. Mr. Rosen Plevneliev, President of Bulgaria, at the R&D Centre of Johnson Controls Electronics in Sofia

The President of the Automotive Cluster Bulgaria (ACB), Dr. Till W. Truckenmüller, owner and CEO of IMACOS Truckenmüller & Company, is proud to demonstrate the power of one of ACB’s prominent members, Johnson Controls, a world leading company in the automotive sector.

The products and services performed by Johnson Controls are an outstanding example of what is possible to develop and manufacture in Bulgaria. Other members of ACB like Grammer, Würth Elektronik, ixetic, Festo or IMI confirm the excellent market potential and prospects of realization for the automotive business in Bulgaria. The ACB member Industrial Commerce sets benchmarks in car sales of the brands Hyundai and Infiniti in Europe. The University of Sofia in close cooperation with LeschkeDesign shows the prototype of an E-Taxi, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, Brabus and Balkan Star.

ACB is a new association, founded in July 2012, but its currently 14 members employ 5,000 people in Bulgaria and approximately 250,000 worldwide. Moreover, ACB is very proud that the government of Bulgaria supports the cluster‘s activities with high priority. ACB would like to express its gratitude to the President of Bulgaria for his visit to Johnson Controls in order to emphasize once again the high interest of the automotive industry for Bulgaria.

Main objectives of ACB:

• Support automotive industry companies with headquarters or subsidiaries in Bulgaria in establishment and further development of production, R&D, sales or service entities
• Attract car manufacturers, manufacturers of special vehicles and leading international suppliers of automotive components to the Bulgarian market – demonstrate locational advantages of Bulgaria over other Eastern European countries, the Middle East and North Africa
• Support projects of ABC members on introduction of technical improvements and innovations, optimization of quality, structures and processes to reduce costs and increase competitiveness in international markets
• Represent interests of ACB members in all matters
• Stimulate ethical market relationships, i.e. corporate government and compliance to be in line with European directives
• Develop and support implementation of measures together with government, universities, private training providers and ABC members in matters pertaining to education and training, development of technology centres

ACB projects in 2013:

• International Automotive Conference in Sofia, May 7 and 8, 2013
• Confirmed speakers from: Volkswagen, PSA Group, Hyundai, GEFCO, Johnson Controls, Grammer, Würth Elektronik, ixetic, Festo, and many other well named automotives
• Automotive Test Centre
• Feasibility studies “Auto Park Bulgaria” and “Pan-European Car Recycling Centre”
• Best practice evaluations “Human Resources”, “Quality Management” and “Educational Centres for Middle Managers”

Main objectives and services of IMACOS Truckenmüller & Company – “Instant Trip to Competence“

• International management and consulting company focused on the automotive industry with 20 managers, lawyers and accountants in Germany and with currently 7 professionals in Sofia, all fluent in English and / or German and with many years of work experience.
• Experts for turnaround management, process optimization and increase of sales performance.
• Full service provider for companies who want to set-up production, development or sales entities in Eastern Europe, especially in Bulgaria.

Contact ACB:

Board: Frederic Flory (Grammer), Kajetan Gressler (ixetic), Lyubomir Stanislavov (S Media Team), Dr. Till W. Truckenmüller (IMACOS), Aleksander Raczynski (GEFCO Bulgaria), Roman Vasilev (Johnson Controls Electronics Bulgaria).
Cluster Manager: Kristina Vladimirova