Japanese corporation Panasonic intends to invest CZK 7.6 billion in its plant in Plzeň by 2025, a record amount in recent years compared to other industrial companies in the region. It will boost production of air-to-water heat pumps, which are in high demand in Europe. The company, which ended its TV production in Plzeň last March after a quarter of a century, started producing indoor pump units in 2018 and outdoor units from July 3 this year. It wants to produce one million pumps a year by 2030, Radek Vach, director of business planning at Panasonic Heating & Ventilation Air-Conditioning Czech, which was called Panasonic AVC Networks Czech at the time of the TV production, it was announced today.
Half of the amount invested by 2025 will go into buildings and the other half into technology. “We have been preparing and renovating the half of the plant that will not be demolished for the production of outdoor pump units since last year, so that is already ready. From September to December this year, we will demolish the first half, building number one, and completely build a new, bigger and taller one – three storeys high,” Vach said. Since the new building will be expanded after the rebuild, it will encompass two-thirds of the plant when completed.
“Today we have around 800 employees, less than a third of them are agency workers. We are hiring dozens of people every month and we will continue to massively recruit higher hundreds of employees,” Vach said. The company wants to have 2,000 employees by March 2026. By last March, after the end of TV production, 900 to 1,000 people had left the company, including about 400 tribal people. “We invited 40 companies from the surrounding region and they immediately dismantled them. Now, as we start hiring, they are asking again if there is room for us,” he said.
The Plzeň-based company produced 100,000 heat pumps last year and plans to double that this year, aiming to reach 550,000 units within two years. The first Panasonic outdoor units produced on 3 July are with the environmentally friendly R290 refrigerant – these devices have so far only been produced in Asia.
Panasonic AVC Networks Czech opened a TV factory in Plzeň in 1997. Panasonic has another car radio production plant in Pardubice.
Source: CTK
Photo: Panasonic Plzeň TV factory
