The engineering branch comments:

The experienced specialists are mainly in the small companies

The greater part of experienced Bulgarian specialists are owners or are employed in small and medium companies. Without an active government or legislative protection and assistance this great engineering potential of Bulgaria cannot be utilized efficiently.

Partnership is necessary between the Chamber of Engineers in Investment Projects (CIIP) and Bulgarian companies

Bulgarian companies must reorganize very flexibly in terms of management and form their strategy of development in the new situation of the open European market because the competition of international companies long ago established and operating well and having traditions and experience in many countries is yet to be witnessed and experienced. Those companies will win the large projects and will make the situation of the local smaller companies quite difficult. There are still communication problems between the new players at the market and the local companies. Those incapable of adapting will be deteriorating and finally will be taken over. Criteria and responsibility in the area of designing will be constantly increasing. Bulgarian engineers have a certain temporary advantage at the moment but our foreign colleagues definitely have more experience and knowledge of the new European legislation, which is already active in the republic Bulgaria as well. I believe that both parties will be looking for opportunities of joint work. In order to keep our market it is very important in these circumstances to achieve priority partnership between Bulgarian engineers from the Chamber of Engineers in Investment Projects (CIIP) and Bulgarian companies.

We are better than our Western competitors

Bulgarian engineering companies possess an enormous potential for modernization of the control systems and visualization of a large part of the old factories from socialist times or the systems now imported. Thus their new owners can receive them in a form competitive to their modern but drastically more expensive western analogs. We in Bulgarian engineering business have proved in various branches that with the high quality equipment we input and the quality of execution of completed projects we can achieve that better and cheaper than the best Western engineering companies – world-famous leaders in their branches.

The answers are logically unpredictable

The questionnaire is good. The bad thing is that in our country the market economy is controlled by mafia structures growing together with the state. For this reasons these are not the real answers to most of the questions and they are objectively logically unpredictable.

Our projects – with our own equipment

We are among the few other Bulgarian manufacturers who predominantly manufacture and to a quite small extent trade. Our engineering projects are with our own equipment in their greater part.

Participation in European programs is a priority

One year after the accession of Bulgaria in the European Union we believe our membership opens new opportunities for development to our company. In addition to distributorship of products we could also offer the production and assembly of new products as well as expert to foreign countries. Our company does not have the financial resources necessary yet but is competitive in terms of price and performance terms. It is important that the branch knows European legislation more profoundly and also to have a priority in the participation in the European development programs.

АСМ

It is still early for a statistical sample and evaluation

At least three years are necessary after Bulgaria has joined the European Union!

Adapting our work to EU standards

Regardless of the difficulties in adapting our work to the standards in the European Union this is the only way providing us with the opportunity to be compared and evaluated along with European companies using the same criteria. That is why our company has been certified in compliance with the requirements of the international standard ISO 9001:2000 since the year 2004.

The evaluation of both domestic and foreign investors is important

The requirements for the operation of an engineering company differ in different countries. The market, traditions and conditions of work are the factors determining those requirements. In Bulgaria the most serious engineering companies are those companies receiving the best references by both Bulgarian and foreign investors.

The European programs are not yet accessible to us,

We have applied but have not been approved.

Salaries are growing faster than the financial results

The lack of professionals determines the growth of salaries in the sector in a greater extent than it would actually grow according to the financial results of companies and the quality of employees. Companies that cannot respond to these requirements of the market of labour and do not have a production of good efficiency are threatened by shrinkage and even dropping out of the market.

The administration is a barrier to using the funds

There is a shortage of Bulgarian highly qualified specialists to respond to the market needs in the European Union (EU), Bulgaria and other countries.

The administration is a serious barrier to getting to use the financial funds from EU for increasing competitiveness and introduction of innovations in Bulgarian companies engaged in actual engineering companies.