VIDEOTON – A quarter century in Bulgaria
VIDEOTON celebrated the 25th anniversary of the inauguration of its facility, coinciding with its founding milestone. Founded in 1968, DZU faced bankruptcy by 1998, when VIDEOTON HOLDING Zrt. acquired majority ownership of the Stara Zagora-based company, operating with only 700 employees by that time.
During the recent celebration, Sasho Saykov, retiring CEO of DZU AD, summarized the 25-year history of VIDEOTON's presence in Bulgaria, recalling and expressing gratitude to key stakeholders. Contract manufacturing began in 1999 with the repair of IBM hard drives, followed by production of Philips hairdryers in VIDEOTON Bulgaria, which at one point became Europe's largest hairdryer manufacturer. In 2008, the first PCB assembly started, and from 2017, Bulgarian operations were restructured into four companies: DZU AD handling VIDEOTON's Bulgarian assets, VIDEOTON Bulgarian Holdings producing electromechanical products, VT Bulplast specializing in plastic injection molding, and VEAS BG focusing on PCB assembly linked to VEAS in Hungary.
Combined revenue of these four Bulgarian subsidiaries reached nearly €80 million in 2023, providing employment for 1200 people.
An investment of nearly 10 million euros
In addition to the anniversary, a renovated production hall of VEAS BG was ceremonially inaugurated in the presence of Mr. Miklós Boros, Hungary's Ambassador to Bulgaria, Mr. Radostin Tanev the Deputy of Mayor of Stara Zagora, and Ms. Iva Radeva provincial official. Thanks to the investment, partially supported by HEPA, nearly 60% of VEAS's Hungarian component assembly (PCBA) capacity will be established in Stara Zagora in the long term, emphasized Ottó Sinkó, co-CEO of the VIDEOTON Group, in his opening speech. The first automotive projects will start this year.
Csaba Klambauer, Managing Director of VEAS Kft., reflected on the 14-year journey of localizing PCBA technology in Bulgaria, acknowledging challenges and successes, thanking all involved in the development, and expressing hope that the hall will soon operate at full capacity.
