Intersnack Bulgaria invests in new potato chips factory in Ihtiman

Snack food manufacturer Intersnack Bulgaria will invest 18 million leva (12 million USD) in the construction of a crisp factory in Ihtiman in 2009, a company press release states, as reported by Investor.bg

Construction of the facility is scheduled to begin at the end of 2009, with more than 400 permanent jobs being created in the local economy.

Another two million leva (1.3 million USD) will be poured into additional programmes this year aimed at stimulating Bulgarian crisp production nationwide.

The food industry is among the few segments in the Bulgarian economy which is not expecting to be hit by the economic crisis and its subsequent financial stagnation. In fact, the report from Intersnack Bulgaria indicates that they expect a "favourable economic outlook"in spite of the crisis.

In 2008, the company registered a record growth in revenue of 250 per cent, without disclosing actual figures.

The snack food market in Bulgaria is valued at 250 million leva (165 million USD) (including nuts, peanuts, popcorn, etc), of which 15 to 20 per cent are attributed to crisps and potato products.

Intersnack Bulgaria is part of Intersnack Group of Companies. Based in Germany, the group has established itself in 20 countries, with more than 6000 employees worldwide. It owns 18 factories and had an annual turnover of 1.5 billion euro last year