Valeri Andreev, SAT: We started with our expertise, and earned the trust of major industrial groups through engineering excellence

2026-10-194 min.

An engineer by education, an entrepreneur by vocation, and a man who has made an outstanding contribution to industrial automation in Bulgaria and the region over more than half a century, Eng. Valeri Andreev is the founder and driving force behind Systems Automation Technologies (SAT). To mark the company’s 35th anniversary, we invited Eng. Andreev to look back at its beginnings and share the decisions, challenges and people that helped him build the business. His answers offer a thoughtful assessment of the journey, fascinating stories and the kind of humour that sometimes provides the best way to describe difficult times.

Hello, Mr Andreev! SAT is celebrating 35 years since its establishment. How do these three and a half decades look through the eyes of the company’s founder?

Yes, after 35 years, we can certainly speak of the company’s history, especially as we appear to be the oldest privately owned company in our field. These years have been demanding, filled with hard work and numerous battles with competitors, constantly changing operating conditions and the need to adapt every day. Above all, we had to contend with the system and the state, which offered virtually no support to start-up businesses in Bulgaria.

SAT has now completed more than 400 projects. Is there a particular project or period in the company’s development that you would describe as a turning point?

We have now completed more than 400 projects. The turning point in terms of project scale and SAT’s rapid growth came in 1998, when we delivered our first project for the Swiss industrial group Holcim.

Until then, my colleagues and I, together with our partners, had been developing our own measuring instruments, which we used to deliver projects in the glass and concrete industries. At that point, I realised that major industrial groups were reluctant to use our in-house developments. I therefore directed all my team’s efforts towards mastering comparable solutions from leading European companies such as Siemens, Schneider Electric and ABB. By combining their products with our engineering expertise, we earned our clients’ trust.

How did you secure your first international projects, and what changed for SAT as an engineering company when you began operating in foreign markets?

While working at Bulgaria’s Central Institute of Automation, I had already successfully delivered two projects in Russia and Cuba. Confident in the qualifications, dedication and drive of my colleagues and myself, we accepted Holcim’s invitation to undertake projects in Kosovo and Serbia. We completed these projects in 2000 and 2001 to a very high standard, on schedule and with a readiness to expand both the scope and geographical reach of our activities. From that point on, things became easier.