The world’s leading provider of technology and services – Bosch has officially opened its Engineering Center in Sofia Tech Park. The event was attended by the management team of the company, representatives of the Bulgarian government, the ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bulgaria, the management of Sofia Tech Park, representatives of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, Medias.
Nearly 200 Bulgarian software professionals are already working at the center and developing innovative technologies for the automotive industry in areas such as driver assistance systems, automated driving and electric mobility. More than 500 highly qualified engineers are expected to be engaged in the center by 2023.
“Our goal is to turn Bosch Engineering Center Sofia into a global hub for software solutions for car manufacturers,” said Mihai Boldizhar, CEO of Robert Bosch LTD. and a representative of the Bosch Group in Bulgaria. “From the position of a leader and one of the largest automotive technology providers worldwide, we believe that the development of software for the future development of the industry will put Bulgaria on the world map as an important destination for the automotive business,” said Boldizar.
“The efforts are finally giving results – center after center, highly qualified employees, Bulgarians returning from abroad, because Bulgaria is a wonderful place to live,” said the Prime Minister Boyko Borisov at the opening of BOSCH’s engineering center. He also stressed that the country continues to attract foreign investments and recalled that just a few days ago a shared services center was opened in Varna by KBC’s Belgian financial group, where more than 300 new jobs will be created. Borisov also pointed out that the World Bank’s outsourcing center is also located on the territory of Sofia Tech Park, and that one of the eight EU supercomputers will be located here. “Science is being made, great things are being done and it is still being built,” the Prime Minister said.
“This investment is part of the dynamic development of Bosch’s software business in Bulgaria,” said Konstantin Konov, Managing Director of Bosch Engineering Center Sofia. “We work in collaboration with the company’s engineering centers in Budapest, Hungary, and in Cluj, Romania, as well as with leading global car manufacturers. As an innovative leader and top provider in automotive engineering, Bosch has attracted specialists with extensive experience in software engineering”, Konov added.
Bosch’s business in Bulgaria is steadily growing, informs the Company, saying that in 2018 the company’s consolidated sales in Bulgaria jumped 19% to € 104 million. There has been good performance in all business sectors, but the software development has particularly strong growth. In Bulgaria the company has initiated programs for development of skilled and experienced software engineers and is supporting young talents in their development. With the opening of the Engineering Center Sofia, Bosch creates a large-scale employee development program, explained the Company.
The software engineers in the new center have the opportunity to work on the latest automotive technology projects, such as automated driving systems, which include systems for monitoring and evaluating driver behavior in a vehicle; artificial intelligence (AI) that processes incoming data, makes decisions and initiates vehicle driving actions to prevent accidents.
