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TO MR. ROSEN ZHELYAZKOV, MR. MANOL GENOV, MR. PETAR DILOV, MR. GEORGI TACHOV, MRS. TSVETA KARAYANCHEVA, AT THE 51ST NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MR. ASEN MARKOV, MRS. ROSITSA KARAMFILOVA, MR. STANISLAV STANCHEV, MR. DANIEL PANOV,
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RE: Shutdown of part of the production facilities at Kronospan Bulgaria EOOD
DEAR MINISTER-CHAIRMAN,
DEAR MINISTERS,
DEAR MADAM CHAIRMAN OF THE CURRENT AFFAIRS COUNCIL,
DEAR HEADS OF INSTITUTIONS,
DEAR Mister Mayor,
The Association of Bulgarian Employers' Organizations (AOBE), uniting the nationally represented employer organizations: BulgarianIndustrial Capital Association (AIKB), Bulgarian Industrial Chamber - Union of Bulgarian Business (BIA), Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and Тhe Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIB), expresses serious concern about the situation with Kronospan Bulgaria EOOD and the order of the Regional Inspectorate for Environment, Water and Water of 16.01.2026 for the immediate shutdown of the particleboard (PB) production line in Veliko Tarnovo, despite the lack of any objective data on pollution.
The enterprise is structurally decisive for several sectors - furniture production, forestry and wood processing, which provide 3% of the country's GDP.
We are following the developments with concern, as the company is one of the largest investors in the region, having invested over 1 billion leva in total in Bulgaria and over 600 million leva in its production in Veliko Tarnovo, of which 80 million leva are investments in treatment facilities and green energy. The Veliko Tarnovo plant currently uses highly efficient technologies for the production of chipboard, MDF and laminated boards and applies the highest European standards for environmental safety.
If the company's operations are terminated, there is a risk that over 500 people will be left unemployed, and the indirectly affected employees related to the company's activities exceed 5,000. The cessation of operations will reflect on 1,800 Bulgarian small and medium-sized enterprises with which Kronospan Bulgaria EOOD has trade and business relations, as well as on nearly 1,000 suppliers of industrial wood harvested through sustainable forest management.
In addition, the negative effect on the furniture industry will be significant and furniture worth over 200 million leva will not be produced. We fear that this would lead to bankruptcies of distributors and furniture manufacturers, and would directly affect the increase in the final price for consumers of furniture production.
The collapse of the forestry sector will be inevitable, as it will lose its largest consumer of wood and this will lead to layoffs. The construction sector will also be affected.
The company is the only one that recycles nearly 50,000 tons of wood waste per year, including household waste, working free of charge with municipalities.
We are concerned that such treatment of a class "A" investor would result in a severe reputational blow to Bulgaria and is a negative signal to all industrial investors in the country.
We insist on reasonable dialogue and reconsideration of the order to immediately stop the chipboard line at the Veliko Tarnovo factory.
RESPECTFULLY,
DOBRI MITREV
Chairman of the Board of Directors of BIA
and rotating chairman of AOBR for 2026,
on behalf of BICA, BIA, BCCI and CEIB
