European Leaders in Wire Assembly and Spring Manufacture for the Automotive Sector
Established in 2004 and now celebrating over 20 years of continuous growth, the William Hughes Bulgaria facility is a specialist site focused on engineering innovation, agile manufacturing and advanced overmoulded wire assemblies. The site plays a central role in our automation strategy and is equipped with state-of-the-art forming, inspection and finishing technologies. It primarily supports the automotive sector, delivering wire forms, assemblies and sub-assemblies for both ICE and EV platforms.
Full-Service Wire Forming with Integrated Testing and Coating
Bulgaria delivers high-specification CNC wire components and springs, supported by ISO-certified quality management and precision validation tools. The facility is optimised for mid-volume batch runs, complex geometries and performance-critical applications.
Core capabilities include:
- CNC coiling and wire forming up to 12 mm diameter
- Automated electrophoretic painting for corrosion protection
- Complex torsion bar manufacture and torsion bar fatigue testing
- High-speed and low-speed robotic welding
- Specialist spring setting, load testing and stress-relieving
- HandySCAN 3D scanning for dimensional verification and reverse engineering
Agile Wire Form Manufacture for Advanced Component Development
We provide prototyping and development work at all stages of manufacture, from concept and feasibility modelling to testing and production validation. With in-house tooling, forming, overmoulding, scanning and fatigue testing, we help customers rapidly convert design intent into working components, without the delays of external subcontracting. This capability supports fast-moving customer programmes and mitigates delays due to design changes or late-stage iterations.
Our experienced team includes design engineers, tooling specialists and quality technicians, enabling agile, end-to-end manufacturing support. This makes the facility especially valuable for customers operating in compressed automotive programme cycles, model-year refreshes, or complex seating architecture projects.
Plastic Overmoulded Bent Wire for Composite Seat Mat Structures
A major specialism of the Bulgaria facility is the manufacture of plastic overmoulded bent wire parts, engineered primarily for car seat systems. These hybrid parts combine structural wire geometries with plastic moulding to deliver structural support, comfort and integration with vehicle electronics.
This capability supports Tier 1 seat system suppliers and OEMs, where seat comfort and functionality are performance-critical. Our Bulgaria team collaborates directly with customer engineering teams to design, validate and fatigue-test these components under automotive seat lifecycle conditions.
Read more: William Hughes combines plastic and steel in a composite car seat mat structure
Technology Advancements
HandySCAN 3D Scanning for Precision Engineering
William Hughes Bulgaria is equipped with the metrology-grade HandySCAN Elite 3D Scanner, delivering highly accurate, portable laser scanning for dimensional verification and reverse engineering of complex wire forms, spring geometries and assemblies. The scanner’s metrology-grade accuracy (up to 0.025 mm) and real-time mesh generation make it particularly well-suited for applications where traditional measurement methods fall short.
This technology enables:
- Comparative dimensional analysis for production and prototype parts
- Generation of reverse-engineered 3D CAD files from physical samples
- Tooling and fixture validation during pre-production
The system supports clients’ R&D and volume manufacturing through its integration with our CAD/CAM platform, building dimensional integrity from initial design through to production scaling. It is especially valuable for the validation, accuracy and repeatability in automotive applications.
Electrophoretic Painting for Corrosion Protection
Our automated electrophoretic painting line supports anti-corrosion and finish specifications, capable of coating complex wire forms and assemblies with a uniform, durable and electrically insulative finish. E-coating is a high-performance, immersion-based process where charged metal parts are submerged in a waterborne paint bath and coated via electrodeposition for full internal and external surface coverage.
Key technical benefits:
- Excellent corrosion protection – over 1,000 hours in salt spray testing (ASTM B117)
- Uniform film thickness of 15–25 microns
- Superior edge coverage and resistance to chipping and cracking
- Environmentally friendly process with low VOC emissions and water-based chemistry
The system is suitable for a wide range of substrates and product types, including:
- Automotive interior and underbody wire assemblies
- High-integrity component brackets requiring dielectric protection
- Electronic component frames and contact-free finishes
In-process parameters such as voltage, bath temperature and coating resistance are continuously monitored and recorded for reproducibility and full traceability for customers operating in regulated industries.
Training, Sustainability and Investment
The Bulgaria facility is led by Ben Cox, the Plant Director in Bulgaria. Ben brings extensive engineering and operations leadership experience to the role, driving investment in advanced technology and environmentally responsible manufacturing. The Bulgarian team includes multi-lingual engineers, trained inspection specialists and process technicians, many of whom are long-standing members of the William Hughes Group and bring deep technical knowledge to both volume and prototype production.
The Bulgaria site is committed to continuous improvement and workforce development. Investment in LED lighting, solar panels, energy-efficient robotics and sustainable packaging form part of the localised green initiative. The facility also acts as a training hub, hosting engineering apprentices from the UK and Bulgaria, who gain hands-on experience with modern manufacturing technologies.
Certifications and Standards
- ISO 9001:2015 – Quality Management System
- IATF 16949 – Automotive Sector Certification
The site follows the environmental and ethical principles outlined in William Hughes’ company-wide sustainability policy.
Benefits of William Hughes Bulgaria
Bulgaria provides agility, technical capability and tightly controlled quality for the automotive industry. It works closely with our UK and Poland sites to provide a vertically integrated, multi-site manufacturing strategy. Customers benefit from early-stage design input, in-process testing and the ability to scale from prototype to volume using consistent quality frameworks.
