On October 10, 1963, the first blast furnace at „Kremikovtsi“ went into operation. Less than a month later, on November 5, the State Metallurgical Combine was officially opened in front of around 30,000 people. Thus, one of the largest industrial enterprises in socialist Bulgaria began operating near Sofia.
The difference between the two dates is significant: October 10 marks the beginning of production, while November 5 was the date of the combine’s ceremonial opening. At the ceremony, Todor Zhivkov declared: „The native Kremikovtsi pig iron is flowing, and the giant of our ferrous metallurgy is entering service.“
From the deposit to the metallurgical giant
The road to the first furnace began a decade earlier. From March 1953 to June 1957, the Main Directorate for Geological and Mining Exploration carried out systematic studies of the Kremikovtsi iron deposit. On July 19, 1958, Bulgaria and the USSR signed an agreement on Soviet technical assistance for the construction of a metallurgical plant and other industrial facilities.
Design work began in 1958. The chief designer was the State Institute for the Design of Metallurgical Plants in Moscow. The technological design received from the USSR was revised and adapted to the local terrain, transport conditions, and engineering and construction infrastructure. By Council of Ministers Decree No. 73 of 1960, the feasibility study and the planning brief for the combine were approved.
Over the following decades, steelmaking and rolling capacities, as well as plants for continuous casting, tube rolling, cold rolling, and sheet-metal coating, were brought into operation. The enterprise became a key supplier to Bulgarian industry and one of the country’s largest employers.
Privatization and the final years
On April 20, 1989, „Kremikovtsi“ was registered as a state-owned company, and on November 6, 1991, it was transformed into a joint-stock company. The privatization procedure began on December 8, 1997. On June 14, 1999, 71 percent of the capital was sold to „Daru Metals“ AD for US$1. The deal was tied to commitments to assume the company’s liabilities, and that same year the state provided BGN 183 million to repay debts owed to state-owned companies.
„Daru Metals“ was renamed „Finmetals Holding“ in 2001. Four years later, the majority stake was acquired by „Global Steel Holding Limited“, a company linked to the Indian Mittal family. The state retained a 25.29 percent stake.
On July 22, 2008, „Kremikovtsi“ began toll-processing operations for Ukraine’s „Vorskla Steel“. On August 6, the Sofia City Court declared the company insolvent and opened bankruptcy proceedings. According to the European Commission, in 2008 the company’s financial condition had deteriorated to the point where it could no longer service its liabilities.
In a ruling dated May 31, 2010, the Sofia City Court declared „Kremikovtsi“ bankrupt, terminated its operations, and ordered the liquidation of its assets. On April 12, 2011, the main separately designated part of the assets–the production sites and the equipment associated with them–was sold for BGN 316 million.
Sources: bta.bg, old-news.bnr.bg, bntnews.bg