Austrian Mares Breaks Ground on Diving Equipment Plant in Bulgarian Pazardjik Dnevnik (Bulgaria)

Dnevnik Daily /Provider: AII Data Processing Ltd.
Date: December 17, 2007

Mares, part of Austrian sports goods maker Head NV, has kicked off the
construction of a diving equipment manufacturing plant in Pazardjik,
southern Bulgaria, Dnevnik daily reported on December 15, 2007.

The construction will absorb 2.5 mln euro ($3.7 mln) and the first
stage of outfitting the plant will take in 1.0 mln euro ($1.5 mln). The
plant is due to start operations in October 2008. It will create between
60 and 100 jobs.

The Austrian concern picked Bulgaria for its high-tech production
location as the country ranks first in Europe in terms of number of
people with higher education, Head board member and Mares president,
Gerald Skrobanek, said. Head does not rule out the option to move part
of its diving computer equipment production from Western Europe to
Bulgaria.

As a strategic investor Head NV bought a municipal plot of 10 hectares
for $1.0 (0.684 euro) in 2002. It pledged to invest 5.0 mln euro
($7,311,000) to build the plant and another 9.0 mln euro ($13,159,800)
to outfit it and create 300 jobs. A year later Head focused its
investment plans to the Czech Republic as the Pazardjik municipality
missed the deadline for building the adjacent infrastructure.


www.dnevnik.bg