William Hughes celebrates 20 years of growth at Bulgarian factory

First opened in 2004, the original 1,000 m2 site has grown from one machine and thirteen employees to now include five machining bays, an office suite and 175 employees - seeing an almost sevenfold increase in useable real estate.

The success of the Bulgarian operation is built on the easy access it has provided to European customers for springs, wire forms and wire assemblies, largely within the automotive industry. Changing manufacturing patterns across Europe have seen a growing demand from the developing local markets in Romania, Serbia and Turkey as well as traditional markets in the UK, Poland, France and Germany.

Bulgaria also supplies a large number of parts to William Hughes' Dorset factory where they can be warehoused and distributed to customers in the UK, who get the benefit of a cheaper cost base without having to deal with the transport or the logistics normally involved in buying from low-cost countries.

"The success of our Bulgarian operations has reinforced the forward-looking decision we made two decades ago," explains Emma Burgon, Engineering Director at William Hughes. "We saw where industry was headed and made the bold move to follow it and set up shop locally.

"To cater for the huge uptake in demand for our class-leading springs and wire forms, there has been broad expansion in both technology and capabilities, with the site now boasting 35 CNC wire-bending machines, seven vertical and two horizontal injection-moulding machines and two nylon plastic-coating lines, along with MAG, MIG and spot welding. There are also seven robotic welding cells, complemented by an Electrophoretic black paint line and Deltatone Finishing."

As the automotive industry evolves, so will William Hughes in order to bolster its reputation as a key multi-industry supplier, capable of designing, engineering and manufacturing to exacting standards, while providing competitive pricing and meeting tight delivery schedules.