Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/743340
48 tobaccoasia / Issue 5, 2016 November / December Yuri Gagarin's KBA Rapida 106, a 14-section offset printing machine with integrated offline cold foil tool Yuri Gagarin's Bobst Masterfoil Autoplatine, a hot foil machine of the latest generation To complement its existing cigarette factories in Blagoevgrad and Sofia (the original BSTM facilities) and enhance its overall output capacity, Bulgart- abac in 2013 acquired Fabrika Duvana Banja Luka (FDBL) in the neighboring country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. "After that acquisition, we invested more than BAM5 million [Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible marks; approx. $3 mil.] into technology upgrades and work materials. FDBL currently has more than 350 employees and the factory's production output is already exported to 7 countries on 2 continents," said the spokesperson. Much of Bulgartabac's commercial success is grounded in the company's flexibility when it comes to product variety. Besides manufacturing all its in- house developed tobacco blends into different product formats depending on individual market requirements, the company can also offer various kinds of pack sizes. It is furthermore fully entrenched in following the global trends of supplying light cigarettes and slim cigarettes. "Bulgartabac is a company that lives in the present, imagines the future and learns from the past," said the spokesperson. "We will continue to grow, and by using our wide-reaching expertise continue to produce high quality, successful products." Yuri Gagarin Plc: the filter-making and printing masters Indeed named in honor of the Soviet-Russian cosmonaut who attained fame for being the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin was established in the city of Plovdiv in 1964 as a spare parts and r&d center for BSTM. In 1971, the outfit added a division for filter rod manufacturing, as well as a printing house. "But then came along 1993, which was a turning point for the company, determining its development for decades ahead," said Yuri Gagarin's filter expert Onik Arabyan, referring to the tremendous changes in Bulgaria's and the Eastern Bloc's economic cli- mate which led to the restructuring of the entire industry sector behind the Iron Curtain. Yuri Gagarin managed to not only survive that upheaval but grew immensely and expanded its markets beyond the post-communist realm. The main reasons for that success, said Arabyan, were a highly professional and motivated workforce, including specialists with huge international ex- perience and wide-ranging competencies, as well as the company's hefty investments in machinery, production facilities, and r&d. As one result of that drive, production of combined filters was in- troduced in 1999. The main advantage experienced by the com- pany after entering the public arena in 2011 was "suddenly being able to make decisions on our own, which was an interesting challenge on all lev- els," recalled sales director Georgi Zisov. The company had to become much more mar- ket-driven and start following global trends in both the filter and printed material markets. After hir- ing specialists with plenty of valuable international contacts and know-how, sales began to take off, reaching €55 million in 2015, while the number of employees peaked at 620 people in the same year. But the company also had to strive for improved efficiency. All production halls were modernized and equipped with new state-of-the-art machines for the printing and filter making divisions. The still existent spare parts department, however, was closed down for good, because analysis showed that it was much more cost-efficient to outsource spare parts. As direct BSTM successors, Bulgartabac and Yuri Gagarin Plc maintain a close affiliation to this day. "Overall, Bulgartabac is still our largest cus- tomer when it comes to volume and turnover," said Arabyan. "Bulgartabac initiates lots of new projects, new designs, new technologies, TPD changes, and so on, which pushes us to follow suit and likewise be more forward-thinking in our own r&d and development." For example, the printing department constantly introduces new printing technologies and effects, while for the filter manu- facturing division the challenges lie in optimizing existing manufacturing specifications and coming up with new filter types. "Collaborating with a big company [like Bul- gartabac] allows us to become better and more innovative ourselves, and that leads to innovative images courtesy of Yuri Gagarin Plc images courtesy of Yuri Gagarin Plc