Factory of the year

Factory of the year

The contest

Capital has been moving hand in hand with the Bulgarian industry for decades. We followed its revival from the chaos of the 90s, through the first steps of new factories and investors, to the flourishing boom of Bulgaria's new industrial era.

For the first time in 2022, the country outperformed all other EU peers, ranking first in terms of industrial production growth. This gives new self-confidence to the Bulgarian business, but also shows extremely positive trends at the macro level - through new jobs, growing incomes and more added value.

The achievement, however, comes amid several raging crises – from the COVID pandemic, the war in Ukraine and high inflation rates, through the energy disruptions and the growing signs of global recession. 

If we look at history again, it seems that we are at the verge of a new turning point for the Bulgarian industry. Its leaders, however, know that the landscape is, and will always remain, uncertain, but if you keep on moving, you can ride the waves of uncertainty instead of being swept away by them.

The Contest 
The "Factory of the Year" contest is Capital’s event which logically builds on the expertise and knowledge accumulated over the years. 

The aim of the project is to distinguish leaders - those who are the first to deal with challenges and those who overcome them in the best possible way. Capital will reward the innovative, the sustainable ones, as well as those who care about the development of the business and its people.

The first edition of the competition will focus on manufacturing innovations on the way to Industry 4.0. Applicants will be evaluated according to criteria developed in partnership with Trakia Tech, Novarto and PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and the one with the highest overall score will receive the honorary prize "Innovative Factory of the Year", which will carry until the next edition in 2023.

Conditions and stages
Manufacturing companies with at least three completed financial years, 10 or more employees and a turnover of at least BGN 2.5 million for 2021 can participate in the competition.

Based on the points collected, a shortlist of candidates will be drawn up and will undergo further evaluation by our Novarto technical consultants.

The assessment itself will be conducted via video chat. By the end of November, three companies will be determined to compete in the final. The final selection of the winner will be made by a 5-member jury on the day of the award ceremony.

This will happen after the finalists briefly present the innovations made in the enterprises and answer questions from the jury.

Award Ceremony 
The award ceremony in the "Factory of the Year" competition will be held on December 8 in the city of Plovdiv and will be broadcast live on the event's Facebook page, on Youtube channel of Capital and on Capital LIVE.

The event is by invitation only.

Judges

Stefan Stoyanov

Stefan Stoyanov

Deputy Mayor for Education, Business Development and European Policies, Municipality of Plovdiv

Georgi Stoeff

Georgi Stoeff

Co-Founder and Chairman, Trakia Tech

Kristiyan Mihaylov

Kristiyan Mihaylov

Co-Founder and Board Member of the Professional Association for Robotics, Automation and Innovation (PARAi)

Bozhidar Neychev

Bozhidar Neychev

PwC Senior Partner for Central and Eastern Europe

Teodora Vasileva

Teodora Vasileva

Managing Editor, Capital

Partners

Strategic Partner:

PwC

PwC

General partner:

Lirex

Technology partner:

SAP

SAP

Technical consultant:

Novarto

Cars partner:

Porsche Plovdiv Audi

Main Partner:

EPAL Bulgaria, Greece, Romania

Partner:

PIXELS

Event host:

OPTIX SMT SOLUTIONS

Event partner:

Xactway

Gallery

Factory of the year

Factory of the year

8 December 2022

More photos›