Икономически годишник - Стара Загора

Gross Output - BGN 437 mln.
Net Sales Revenues - BGN 467 mln.
Profit - BGN 47 mln.

273 companies are operating in the sub-sectors Manufacture of Food Products and Manufacture of Beverages. Their total NSR amounts to BGN 467 mln. The top 10 companies hold 79% of the total NSR, i.e. BGN 367 mln. The total profit earned by the companies in the two sub-sectors is BGN 47 mln.
A principal player in the sub-sector is Zagorka AD. The brewery is the Bulgarian leader in terms of beer sales (of the brands Zagorka, Ariana, Amstel, Heineken, Kaiser, Stolichno). For the first two quarters of 2008, Zagorka AD sold approximately 840,000 hectoliters, thus holding a market share of 30%. The sales of Zagorka AD for a one-year period (July 2007 – July 2008) amount to 1.7 mln. hectoliters, 2,400 of which were sold on foreign markets in USA, Greece, Germany, United Kingdom and Thailand.
In 2008, Zagorka AD invested BGN 30 mln. in the construction of a new storehouse, the purchase of a labeling machine, fermentation equipment, etc. The company also adopted special measures to guarantee the hygiene of its packaging.
The beer of Zagorka brand is one of Stara Zagora’s symbols that have survived throughout the years. Since 1994, Zagorka AD is owned by the world brewery giant Heineken.
The second position in the sub-sector, in terms of net sales revenues, is occupied by Gradus-1 OOD. The company has the largest and most modern factory for producing and processing chicken and poultry meat and products in South Eastern Europe. The factory occupies an area of 15,000 sq. km. and has 350 employees. BGN 35 mln. have been invested in the facility, which is in operation since 2006. The production equipment is supplied by the Dutch company Stork, which is a leader in the manufacture of conveyor production lines for processing white meat. The Gradus 1 factory has a closed production cycle, from the egg to the sausage, and has its own incubator, fodder factory, and broiler breeding and cramming farms. The facility has an annual production capacity of 27,000 tons (13 mln. chickens) and has the capacity to double its output. The 2007 NSR of Gradus-1 OOD total BGN 64 mln., which is 25% more compared to the previous year. The net profit of the company (after taxation) amounts to BGN 10.5 mln.
The third position in the sub-sector, in terms of net sales revenue, is occupied by Biser Oliva AD, a manufacturer of cooking oil, hydrogenated oils and groats. At the end of 2008, Biser Oliva invested BGN 28 mln. in a new extracting and pressing conveyor technology. The new equipment increased the factory’s productivity from 300 to 550 tons of sunflower seeds processed per twenty-four hour shift, i.e. 220 tons output. Biser Oliva AD also introduced a waste free production technology, utilising the sunflower seed husks for burning with a purifying filter on the chimney.
Risoil SA – Switzerland is one of the majority shareholders of Biser Oliva (owning 47.5% of the capital). The remaining shares are distributed mostly among companies managed by Ivan Angelov, who is a majority owner of Gradus 1 OOD as well.
KEN AD has a 14% market share of the short-lasting sausages market in Bulgaria. These comprise 95% of the company’s output, and the remaining 5% are durable cooked smoked sausages. The 2007 net profit of Ken AD is BGN 2.5 mln., i.e. 71% growth as compared to the previous year. In 2008, KEN AD started the construction of a new meat processing factory in Golesh quarter. The facility occupies an area of 9,000 sq.m. It is planned to start operation in 2009 and will thus double the production capacity of the company. The average production is expected to reach 60 tons of sausages per day, in a double-shift working schedule. The investment is worth BGN 22 mln. and the project is funded through credit provided by Societe Generale Expressbank.
The image of the region’s food industry sub-sector is further completed by Domaine Menada winery and the fruit and vegetable processing and preserving factories: Provimi – Zara AD, Konex - Tiva OOD, Dioni OOD, etc.

Leading companies in the sub-sectors