Those who think the future is something far away and unclear are wrong. Everyone can be sure that it is here today if you visit the Automotive Forum & Expo Sofia 2018. The exhibition can be seen in the Inter Expo Center in Sofia and is open to visitors in the period October 18 - 21.

The relationship between people, machines and IT technology lies at the heart of industrial production - now and in the future. Not only are production lines automated, but components themselves become more intelligent and part of a network.

Automotive Expo Sofia 2018 is a specialized auto exhibition which presents not only the fast growing automotive industry, but also the after-sales services in Bulgaria. New technologies, all types of auto parts and components, auto service equipment, accessories, and various types of vehicles are on display.

In addition to the exhibition itself, one can visit the Automotive Forum Sofia that includes an international conference, a B2B platform for meetings, a Career Fair and Zone of the Future. Managers of global automotive companies and manufacturers of parts are presenting the most successful projects in Eastern Europe and Bulgaria. Among them is Dr. Andreas Hölscher, Head of Corporate Product Development at Festo.

German family company Festo has been producing in Bulgaria for 28 years now. But why did the company choose Bulgaria?

"Bulgaria was selected 30 years ago before the democratic changes. It has a well-developed workforce and we have always been able to attract good collaborators. We are very pleased with production in Bulgaria, as well as the quality of the products produced here and the capabilities of our employees. This has made us invest more in Bulgaria."

Festo is world leader in automation technology, industrial training and educational programs. The group employs about 20,100 people who share a common goal: maximum productivity and competitiveness.

In Bulgaria, the company produces mainly electronics. This is the second such production center after Germany, precisely because of the good quality and abilities of the workers.

"The labor market in software production is quite limited, but Festo has earned a good reputation. We manage to attract specialists with interesting projects, some of which we present at the current fair. New technologies attract people."

In Bulgaria, Festo not only produces, but also carries out research and development. In the coming years, it plans to hire 30 to 50 new specialists. But the company has more ambitious plans:

"According to us, after Germany and China, Bulgaria will turn into the third largest center when it comes to development and competence building. Possibilities for developing IT technologies here in Sofia are magnificent, and we think we will find very good specialists to build a powerful team that would be able to carry out projects together with our development center in Germany. Our production in Bulgaria is to expand and we are already looking for a suitable site."

English: Alexander Markov