History
History of baking and bread producing in the Dobroudja
In Bulgaria’s granary – the fruitful and sunny Dobroudja – bread making has rich and old history. The enterprising Dobroudjan people believed in the wise man’s words that no one is bigger than bread, and they habituated their generations to respect towards the ritual of this noble profession. As bread has been prepared since the world began, and our ancestors have worshipped it as a holy thing. In the beginning of the 20th century bread making in Dobrich had its bloom. There were between 40 and 50 bakeries in the town.
In 1934 - 75 years ago, the Romanian Constantin Dimitrescu decided to expand the capacity of the bakery in Yordan Yovkov street, which was different from the other ones, and they called it factory. He made contacts with German firms, closed a contract for technical delivery, and had a well dug. Two meters deep in the ground, water gushed, which was so necessary for dough kneading. The rich Romanian’s dream came true. Engineers and technicians arrived, the technical equipment was assembled, and the ovens were built.
In 1947, in the time of nationalization, the factory was turned into a communal company. The beginning of three shift bread production was made. In the fifties and sixties, the company was included in different structures.
Step by step, bread making got a new aspect, science was given a way, attention was paid to recruitment and training, and in the seventies the building and installing of the new bread making factory began.
In 1975, in the town of Dobrich, the new factory was ready. Till 1979, the factory functioned with its whole capacity, on a three-shift regime. The old Polish equipment was replaced by a new Czech one. Great attention was paid to the realization of the production.
After the change
In the endless circle of life, 70 years are only a moment of the eternal nature, but in the context of human life they are a deserved age which provokes to a balance. In the history of the factory there is everything.
The old workers and employees still remember the difficulties of the transition during the changes in the social, political and economic life in Bulgaria in 1989 that they overcame together under the competent leadership of its manager, engineer Encho Malev and his team. The subsidized communist bread production went to history, the low prices of bread and the restricted profit, too. After the heavy heritage of plan economy, the managing team together with the workers had to prove themselves in the conditions of competition and free market. With a lot of work, extreme ambition and full selflessness of all workers and employees, the results were not delayed. The firm not only survived in the years of unheard economic collapse but very soon it managed to get to its feet, to develop, and from a hardly languishing company established itself as a leading one in the branch, taking its worthy place and stable presence in the economic life of the country.
The first private bread making factory in Bulgaria
A decisive step in the latest history of the company was made in 1995, when measures were taken for its privatization. Manager Encho Malev’s confidence, the full support of the working team, the professionally made offer with a definite public engagement, led to the successful final of the privatization deal.
The Dobrich bread making factory became the first privatized bakery in the country with majority owner engineer Encho Malev. Today, 23% of the capital is owned by the workers and employees, and 10% come to Dobrich Municipality. This fact defines the emphasized social engagement of “Dobrudjanski hliab” AD.
The present condition of the company proves its rapid development in the last 9 years, when bread making and milling traditions are being combined with the latest trends of industrial production in world dimension.
Since March 1995, production and sales have increased 5 times. In a competitive business environment, the company registers /marks/shows permanent increase/growth. Parallel /simultaneously/ along with paying off the privatization deal, the company invests in enlarging the main activity. A row of successful investments show the innovative approach in business management and the ambitious style of the managing team.
The facts speak about themselves
1997 an own mill was built, that in 2000 was enlarged with equipment of the Swiss firm Bühler. The capacities of the milling complex were completed with the stone module for production of new quality flour kinds – ray, whole-meal, and graham for the production of dietetic and enriched bread sorts.
1998 a fifth line for production of main bread sorts was introduced. A semi-automatic line for production of different bread sorts of the German firm MIVE was installed.
2000 a fully automatized line for production of sliced and packed bread of the world known German firm Werner und Pflanderer with capacity of 2 400 bread units per hour, was put into operation. This type of automated production is a phenomenon in Bulgarian industry, and shows the way of development to numerous competitive companies in the branch. In this line, the production process runs under extremely hygienic conditions, packing is robotized.
2003. A new line for production of main bread sorts with capacity of 2 400 units per hour was built. The equipment is from the German firm Winkler.
2004. A new bread making factory in Varna was put into operation, where there is a differentiated production of croissants and Kaiser bagels.