The leading logistics and transport company on the Bulgarian market, Discordia plans to employ about 1,800 new employees over the next 5 years, and for the same period will invest BGN 350 million in its business. This was confirmed by the founder and CEO of the company Hristo Hristov at an event.

"For the past five years we have invested 130 million leva and have opened more than 700 jobs," he said. In his words at the beginning of 2018, the number of people employed in the company grew by 215 and by the end of December they will increase to 250 people.

At the moment, the drivers who work for the company are 700. "We are thus expecting to be in 25th place among the largest employers in the country," he added. Hristov admitted that the problem of shortage of drivers in the industry is increasing, but their efforts are aimed at attracting back people who have gone abroad.

"I can not say it's easy to find people, it's very difficult," he explained.

What is the reason for the shortage of drivers and how much the sector has grown in recent years?

As the main reason for the lack of cadres Discordia explain with the rapid growth of the sector, as well as the demographic preconditions in the country. "The industry has grown 10 times, demographic problems also have an impact, and there is a need to improve the image of the profession," said Deputy Executive Director Kalin Petrov.

In his words, the pay of drivers has also increased significantly and it can now compete with what Western European companies offer. Hristo Hristov estimated that there are about 65,000 vehicles with Bulgarian registration. "The industry contributes 6.5 billion euros to the market, including other modes of transport, the contribution reaches 8-9 billion euros," he explained.

"Compared to tourism, for example, we are twice as big," added the executive director of the company.

Tolls and their effect on the transport sector

From August, the next year, the so-called "tolls for heavy goods vehicles will be introduced and replace vignettes. Tariffs will vary depending on the class of roads. Some time ago, Road Infrastructure Agency announced that revenues will increase significantly after the introduction of the new system to over BGN 1 billion per year, and the increase is expected to mainly come from heavy traffic.

Asked how the tolls will effect the transport business, Hristo Hristov said they will be felt not only by the companies, but also by their customers. "Our price will shift to our customers," he says. "My concern an increase of the border queues," he added.

According to Hristov, this may have been solved by introducing a prepayment of heavy goods vehicle charges as such model is used in other countries in Europe. 

The aim of the company is at the end of 2022 to have 1380 vehicles, with the average life of the fleet in its fleet of 1 year and 3 months. "In most European countries, there are not so many companies, and even in Germany, there are no companies with so many cars, and our fleet is among the newest in Europe," added Hristov.

For the same period, Discordia plans revenues from all of their business, including logistics and forwarding, to reach over 177 million euros or over 346 million leva. The company was established in 1992 and currently has offices in Sofia, Varna, Ruse, Burgas, as well as in Ukraine and Romania. The company operates on over 20 markets, mainly in Europe, with the top 3 being Germany, Turkey and Austria.