Construction works started in March 2018 and were completed in September 2019. The new building has a total surface area of 5.700 square meters and it will host approximately 250 employees, as well as the testing laboratories within the factory.
The expansion of the production activity of the company located in Blaj has led to the decision to construct a new building aimed at supporting the continuous growth of the unit and ensuring enough space for the new projects that will contribute to the factory’s long-term development.
Early November 2019, Bosch group said it dropped plans to build a washing machine plant in Simeria, Hunedoara County, which would have required a EUR110 million investment.
“BSH Hausgeräte GmbH has decided not to continue with plans to build a washing machine plant in Simeria until further notice,” Irenne Wagner, head of marketing BSH Electrocasnice, told ZF at that time.
Due to economic conditions and strategic planning of sales based thereon, the home appliances manufacturer does not see any need for new production facilities in Europe at the moment. BSH has a manufacturing network of 22 plants in Europe, which can flexibly adjust to changing demand, the BSH official added at that time.
The initial plan was to start construction work on the new facility this year, but the delays caused by the access to the state aid needed to begin caused the group to postpone it. The first washing machines should have been assembled in the new plant in 2021. The facility was supposed to create 700 jobs and have an annual production capacity of more than one milion washing machines for the European market.
Bosch bought a 40-hectare plot for the plant in Simeria, without revealing how much it paid. To be able to buy it, it had to secure approval from more than 50 owners of plots in the area. BSH still owns the respective plot of land in Simeria, which is now used by a local farming company, according to Irenne Wagner, head of marketing BSH Electrocasnice.