The first nitrile glove factory in Europe was opened in Plovdiv
Source：Traffic News Agency
From：Taiwan Trade Center, Sofia
Update Time：2022/08/15
The investment is worth BGN 13 million and 100 jobs have been create
Today, PPS Manufacturing officially opened the factory with a production area of 6,000 square meters, located on "Kuklensko shosse" in Plovdiv. Their products - nitrile gloves, will be used for healthcare, industry and household.
The investment is worth over BGN 13 million, and this represents funding from the Sustainable Cities Fund under the Urban Development Fund financial instrument. The total amount of the credit resource provided is BGN 12,014,990, of which BGN 7,088,844 is provided by the Operational Program "Growing Regions 2014-2020" and includes co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund. The amount covers the construction of the building, production line, equipment and warehouse space.
"Today's investment is certainly not the largest in Plovdiv, but it will certainly be the most significant because it follows new trends - disrupted global supply chains, covid, protectionism in major markets. This is an entirely Bulgarian investment, with Bulgarian entrepreneurs and management, created with a Bulgarian spirit. It is very rare that a company from Eastern Europe throws down the gauntlet and wants to become the leader of the European market. The investors are pioneers and typical representatives of the new wave of Bulgarian entrepreneurs and industrialists," said the Deputy Mayor of Plovdiv Stefan Stoyanov.
The factory will start operating as early as next week. It will produce 37,000 gloves per hour, and production will be 24/7. For the purpose of the current maximum capacity of 250,000 boxes of gloves per month, about 100 employees will work in the plant, and the company continues to recruit staff. For comparison, only one food chain operating in our country uses about 1.5 million gloves per month in its centers throughout the country.
The new factory is a unique project for Bulgaria and for the whole of Europe, as there is currently no production of protective nitrile gloves for medicine and the food industry on the continent. The new factory is part of the Thrace Economic Zone and develops the concept of building carbon-neutral industrial zones. It is planned to build a laboratory for scientific and development activities and production tests. The company's products will be tested in a European certified laboratory and will be certified by a European authority.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Georgi Petkov, indicated that he sincerely hopes to find serious partners in Europe, so as to scale up production and ultimately reduce the continent's dependence on Asian markets.
The project was implemented within two years, said executive director Anton Petrov.
The Deputy Mayor of Plovdiv, Stefan Stoyanov, emphasized the transformation of Plovdiv, which is emerging as one of the European industrial centers. According to him, it is an extremely optimistic fact and a completely new phenomenon in the Bulgarian economy that in recent years the investors in production businesses are mainly Bulgarians or the projects are implemented jointly with our citizens.
"In addition to Plovdiv becoming an industrial leader in the country, the city is also one of the leading industrial centers in Southeast Europe. Even during a pandemic, something happens every month – a new plant opens, production expands, we announce a new investment. All these activities led to Plovdiv becoming the fastest growing city in the country in 2021. Even minimally, it is growing faster than Sofia, which, no joke, has not happened since the Unification. The dynamics and level of industrialization in the Plovdiv region are already above the average for the European Union, with high-tech productions that will still provide high added value and attract many people to live and work here," Stoyanov pointed out.
He recalled that in just 1 year, the community of foreigners permanently residing in Plovdiv increased by as much as 30%, with a usual growth of 8-9%.
"We already have over 26,000 foreigners who permanently live and work in Plovdiv, and gradually and imperceptibly, Plovdiv is becoming a good place to live, have a career and do business," Stoyanov pointed out and wished the company success.
At the opening of the plant, the entire production line was presented and the management of the company demonstrated in a real environment how the machines function.
Source: https://trafficnews.bg/broker/otkriha-parvata-evropa-fabrika-nitrilni-rakavitsi-plovdiv-251271/