Nedev is not only well known as ambitious and results-driven by his colleagues, but also by many in his community, thanks to his recent participation in local elections, where he ran as a councillor to be one of the 41 people that make the city’s key decisions. Nedev explains, “I don’t have political ambitions but I do want to offer the best working conditions for everyone that works at RETAL, as well as enabling us to appeal to new candidates. Our facility is widely known locally as we are a major employer in Sliven, but we are increasingly finding that political decisions are not supporting us in the same way. Local public transport is not very good and the road to our factory needs to be improved. When I learned that another industrial area locally was earmarked for development yet our progressive, productive factory, that employs many local people and is expected to employ many more in the coming years, is not being supported, I wanted to put myself forward.”
Reliable business needs support
Although Nedev was not voted in to join the Sliven local council, his low-level campaign to highlight his purpose for running has helped the issues of the surrounding area of the RETAL Balkan factory (the Keramika Street industrial area) reach a wider audience. Nedev continues, “RETAL Balkan is an important player in Sliven. Not only do we employ over 90 people and have open positions for more, we are a consumer of electricity, a major tax payer, an active participant in local services and events. We need the support of our local council as they need us to be a transparent, reliable business.” 
Located in the municipality of Sliven, 280km east of the capital Sofia, RETAL Balkan is one of the 13 factories in the RETAL group, a multinational plastic packaging manufacturer. RETAL Balkan employs 90 people and is well known in its city as a long-term, reliable employer for its teams, many of whom have been with the company since it was founded in 2009.
RETAL Balkan produces a wide range of PET preforms and HDPE closures for household brand name clients, primarily in the food and beverage industries and, more specifically, for bottled water brands. Utilising its modern equipment and state-of-the-art facilities, the facility uses injection molding machinery to produce one billion preforms and one billion closures each year, the majority of which are destined for neighbouring countries, with some bought by local customers.
Both Nedev and the general manager of the factory Rosen Ruschev have a strong local presence, and are keen to ensure that the people that work at RETAL Balkan have the best possible working environment, inside their facility, in their community and on their daily journeys to work. As a city of 70k people, Sliven’s voting for the community counsellors placed Nedev in 15th place, running as an independent. Nedev adds, “I ran as a citizen of our city. I just want decent, local, educated people to be able to be heard, to represent people that want to work hard, to get out what they put in. Our city is developing and it has a great opportunity to develop in a way that benefits the many, rather than the few. Even though I wasn’t voted in, I am sure that now I have access to people that will listen and that share my goal for transparency and fairness.”
Nedev’s vision for a progressive Sliven that protects the future for local people and businesses alike is the redevelopment of existing facilities. He concludes, “We don’t need to invest in a whole new industrial area when there is an excellent infrastructure already here. Attracting new investors will be possible if we channel what we have, rather than making it that all companies are fighting for the same people. RETAL is ready to hire new people, but we need local government support to level the playing field.”
