NFM opens a production facility in Bulgaria

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the NFM Group closed its facilities in Lviv and turned its sights to Bulgaria, an EU and NATO member nation to continue its operations.

Although NFM production facilities in Poland already were working at full capacity, NFM was able to temporarily accommodate the outstanding orders from Ukraine. A long-term solution to this was to buy and open a facility somewhere else in Europe.

The city of Pleven

The city of Pleven was the location chosen to be the new Bulgarian production facility for the NFM Group. The city has 100,000 residents, a strong textile industry in fashion and uniform production and it is close to the Romanian border which is a direct route to NFM Production in Poland. A non-stop road trip by a truck delivering products from factory to factory, would take 24 hours.

– NFM purchased a five-story building of 3300 square meters which required refurbishment to get it to NFM standards. There was no communal room where staff could relax on their breaks, the bathrooms were outdated and so many upgrades have been completed. It is a work in progress, but the plan is for the facilities to have a look and feel as per NFM in Poland – states Małgorzata Dombrowska, Chief Operating Officer.

The first employees were hired in September and today there are 29 employees, but the aim is to be fully operational with 130. Trial production commenced in November and since the 12th of December, regular production has continued. The production goal is to reach the same level of operations as Ukraine had, within the next six months.

Both heavy and light textile production will occur from THOR systems to GARM uniforms. In parallel with that, NFM is also searching for the right sub-producers that can assist in textile production. Tenders take place irregularly, and the workloads sometimes vary. When there is a requirement for extra recourses, sub-producers are a valuable resource.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria is an EU and NATO member which guarantees the security of the country from outside interference. Its long history in textile production and education is ideal for NFM, as it is a profession that is gradually disappearing within Europe.

The geographical location of the country has historically important trade routes which intersect it from northern/eastern Europe to the Mediterranean basin and from western and central Europe to the Middle East. EU members engage in the bulk of Bulgarian trade.

– Bulgaria is in NATO and the EU. It also is strong in the textile industry with skilled employees and existing textile schools for professionals, so it is perfect for NFM, states Dombrowska.

A special thanks

There are many people that have assisted in the procurement of NFM Bulgaria and two deserve a special mention.

Ivan Ivanov is a Regional Sales Manager for NFM, but he became General Manager in the first phase of Bulgarian activities. He has been instrumental in starting up the company helping with local contacts, locations, laws and finding staff.

Natalia Bespalova is a production manager who is based in Ukraine. She has travelled many times from her country to Bulgaria to design the production processes, layouts, assist with the employment of sewers, fitting cutting rooms and everything else production related.

– I am very thankful to these two people for their dedication in establishing NFM Bulgaria. Their expertise was vital to it being a success, concludes Dombrowska.

New General Manager

A new General Manager, Nikolay Stoev, has been appointed to run the Bulgarian facilities. Nikolay has many years of experience in running production facilities in Bulgaria and will start his new position in January 2023.