Бизнес

Nedelcho Ganchev has his own workshop for soft drinks in Velingrad, where he produces over 20 types of carbonated drinks. It started 10 years ago and in that amount of time it has gained a lot of experience in the local market conditions. He defines today's situation as a struggle for survival because:

"On May 24, it will be 10 years since I have worked in this industry. About 5 years ago, the work was completely different: there were 8 people working two shifts in the workshop. Plus homework, we worked a total of 15 people. Now it's my mother, my wife, and me. We don't even have a job.
I have always been punctual to the state and its requirements: taxes, insurance, patents - I have paid everything as it is written in the big books. I work with my own labels, which is also difficult. My shop has Act 16. Only for the documents for it I have paid a huge amount, which has no return at all. The mere making of Act 16 in the legal way was a year and three months of walking the torments of the "respectable" arch. Romanska.
In terms of production: we work with a machine programmed by the institute in Plovdiv, it is researched, the requirements are met at 100 percent. The workshop has steam heating of naphtha, but currently works with bran and shavings for explainable financial reasons.
The new requirement plus patents to pay 5 leva per square meter further worsens the situation. The patent for us will become over 800 leva. It is heard that this requirement may be waived by parliament, but until I see it in the State Gazette, I no longer believe in fairy tales. If it's dropped, it'll be pretty good. By 16 October last year I had workers, but we had to split up for the simple reason that wages and insurance could not be paid. I've been trying to keep people safe because they've been working for 7-8 years, they're experienced, they know their job, along with some of them, our best years have passed.
Since 10 years, the work has been progressively declining. My observations are that in the summer there is work, in the winter it falls, and in the next summer, however, it does not increase, but it is like in the winter, etc. I work with about 30 retail outlets in Velingrad. Years ago, we used to charge twice a day, and now once every two weeks. It's not because of the competition: 10 years ago there were about 25 soft drink shops in Velingrad, now there are 3-4 main workshops, but there is no work. The winter was very hard, there were no soft drinks from Pazardzhik and Peshtera, however the work did not increase. We come to the conclusion that people have no money. My production is for middle-class people, who I don't know if exists, but these people don't have money. During the holidays, you used to buy a case of beer and a case of soda. Now most people buy 2-3 soft drinks and 2-3 beers. This year the Babinden holiday, which you know how it feels in Velingrad, was not felt. For Christmas and New Year - the same, just a stronger day. And we worked until 9 pm on December 31 and closed not because there were no customers, but to celebrate us as well. On December 31, 2001, we finished at 1 p.m.
We are trying to increase the assortment: we used to have 5, and now 22 assortments. In terms of prices, we work on the edge between bankruptcy and profit. 30% of the assortment we sell almost at a loss, and 70% at a minimum profit. Officially everywhere they say that there is no inflation in Bulgaria, but just imperceptibly, "with cotton" everything increases. As end producers, we cannot raise prices because the current ones also seem high to the people. The truth is, we don't have jobs because people don't have money. If someone gives them one, our production will start as well. I also have a market on the Southern Black Sea coast. I've been working there for 4 years - and there the decline is the same. In Velingrad the tourist season is not felt, now the Macedonians complain that they are expensive here. At this point, we're sort of getting by. Like all humans, we've shrunk to an enta degree. It saves me that even though cars are depreciated, at least I have something to replace them with if they don't spoil. At the moment we are working with the thought of not closing the door of the workshop, keeping the technique, talking about survival. It is not so important for the state to help us - I do not want interest-free and other loans, because even brand new cars to buy, and new machines to launch, there is still no market. The important thing is that people have money, and then I know how to handle it. Now getting something new takes a lot of money, I've tried extra stuff like metal caps and concentrates. After all - 10 years have passed in this workshop, we have to be optimistic and fight for our work."
Recorded by: Elena Baeva