A non-traditional meeting took place today in Dulovo town between the management of Quartzwerke GmbH, the German company that acquired Kaolin EAD in 2013, and the Mayor, the municipal council and the representatives of the local administration. The meeting was held in the form of a garden party, organized by Quartzwerke GmbH on the territory of the former Forage Plant in the town, purchased by the German company for the needs of building a modern kaolin and quartz sand processing plant.
In the courtyard of the factory, in front of the buildings that have been abandoned for years, Robert Lindeman-Berk addressed the local government with the words: “Please remember well how this place looks today. And I ask you to come back in a year to see what changes will take place in it." The owner of Kaolin assured the Dulovo municipality that the project to build a kaolin processing plant in their city is an absolute priority for the company and that no funds and resources will be spared to make it the most modern facility of its kind in Bulgaria.
The project for the development of the kaolin deposits in the municipality of Dulovo has been delayed for decades, being the subject of severe litigation, ultimately won by the German company. The new owner of Kaolin EAD is determined to begin the work in Dulovo town. Early last year, Robert Lindeman-Berk has promised investments in Bulgaria worth BGN 100 million, more than half of which are planned for the new power plant in Dulovo.
In their greetings, the mayor of the city, Dr Yuxel Ahmed and the Mayor of the City Council, Sezgin Ghalib, stated the readiness of the local authorities to support the investment intended in every way and assured that, as far as the municipality is concerned, the project would not encounter any difficulties at the local level.
In Dulovo, which suffers the effects of de-industrialization and the strong emigration of the population abroad, the beginning of the development of the kaolin deposits and the construction of a plant is expected with a great impatience and is seen as a chance for a new start of the recovery for the local economy. Quartzwerke GmbH are now committing themselves to start training people from Dulovo to be prepared to take over the management of the plant as soon as the ribbon is cut. To the questions from the municipal councilors regarding the ecology, Robert Lindeman-Berk said: "I know that whatever I tell you about our attitude towards the nature, you will not believe me. Therefore, I invite you to visit any of our twenty factories in Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Russia, Austria. Certainly the German environmental legislation is no less strict than the Bulgarian legislation. I promise you, it will be like in Germany here! "
If all the administrative procedures go smoothly and no new artificial obstacles are created for the German investor, the first dig for the Dulovo plant is expected to be made in the next year and for the plant to be operational in October 2020.
