Melexis opening new production building in Bulgaria, Sofia in Sept 2021

Melexis, Belgian microelectronics developer  plans to open its second production and R&D building in Sofia in September, after a total investment of about 75m euros, company officials said during a press event.

The new building will add a total of 15,000 square meters of production, logistics and R&D space to the existing 7.5,000 square meters in the company's first building in the Bulgarian capital.

Amid the global shortage of chips, Melexis plans to hire another 160 new employees in Sofia by the end of 2022. Currently, the base in Sofia has about 500 employees and is the largest for Melexis in this regard. The Belgian company has a total of 1,500 employees in 18 countries.

"Sofia is a center for technological innovation with affordable offices, very good IT infrastructure, good transport links and a high level of English language proficiency. We are proud that Melexis provides new employment opportunities in the region, ”said Nicolas Simon, Vice President of Product Development and Product Quality at Melexis.

And although the market in Sofia is limited in terms of free highly skilled labor, Melexis chooses to build its new building here because of "its extensive experience in the capital and its excellent relationship with the local technical university," said Mark Biron, who will take over as chief executive. director of Melexis since August 1, for Forbes Bulgaria.

The new employees will work on various projects, including the development and production of innovative integrated circuits and other solutions. And although the company has a strong position in the automotive segment, it aims to impose its chips in other industries, such as the gaming market, which will be helped by increased production and R&D capacity.