Mandatory things
“Bulgarians hate mandatory things. There are so many things that have to be solved that when I hear about Parliament I go around this. The word “mandatory” in particular is one I dislike.” – BOYKO BORISOV, BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER
REGIONAL NEWS ROMANIA
MLEKOPRODUKT
KONUX, a Munich-based AI startup that provides smart sensor systems and AI-based analytics to railway companies, has raised a further $13 million in an extension of its Series B financing round, announced in April 2018, bringing the total amount raised in this financing round since last year to $33 million. The Series B round includes lead investor New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Upbeat Ventures, MIG AG and new investor Alibaba Group, the company announced. KONUX was co-founded in 2014 by Germans Andreas Kunze and Dennis Humhal, and Romanian Vlad Lata, who is also the chief technical officer (CTO). The company combines smart sensors and AI-based analytics to enable higher train punctuality and network capacity through predictive maintenance planning and optimized utilization of railroads. The company has engineering centers in Munich and Cluj-Napoca (Romania). The Romanian engineering team takes care of backend, DevOps and QA, according to a presentation on the company’s website.
Nine individuals from public, business and political life have been awarded with the medal of the “Brotherhood of St. Uguzon” in recognition of their extraordinary contributions to the promotion of cheese and cheese production. The first assembly of the International Cheese Guild in Serbia, and the 559th assembly generally, has been organised at the Embassy of France in Belgrade, according to the initiative of company Mlekoprodukt, a member of the Savencia Fromage & Dairy group. This occasion saw Belgrade visited by famous cheese expert and president of the guild Roland Barthelemy.
GERMAN STARTUP CO-FOUNDED BY ROMANIAN RAISES $33 MLN
TEMENUZHKA PETKOVA
BULGARIA
REACHING ENERGY ENDEPENDENCE Local gas extraction in the Black Sea is among the most realistic types of diversification of energy sources towards which the Bulgarian government is striving. According to Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova, this will help Bulgaria achieve energy independence. A drillship will begin deepwater exploration in the Khan Kubrat section, 120 kilometres off the Burgas coast, in a bid to reveal oil and gas deposits. Minister Petkova noted that Bulgaria has developed, together with the European Commission, a strategy for the construction of a gas distribution centre in Bulgaria and local extraction is among the possible sources of gas for the future Balkan gas hub.
ANDREAS KUNZE (LEFT), DENNIS HUMHAL, AND ROMANIAN VLAD LATA
HUNGARY
BOSCH TO INVEST €44 MLN AT HUNGARY BASE German engineering giant Robert Bosch will invest 14.1 billion forints (€43.8mlm) at its automotive unit in the northeast Hungarian city of Miskolc. Hungary’s government is supporting the investment with €8.3mln, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told the press conference. Robert Bosch Energy and Body Systems makes vehicle parts, relays and electric drives. Among the parts it makes are next-generation products such as brake servomotors and ESP systems used in hybrid and electric cars. The current investment will add production lines for next-generation products as well as testing systems by 2021.
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March
INTERNATIONAL CHEESE GUILD NAMES SERBIAN MEMBERS FOR THE FIRST TIME
The brotherhood, which is part of the International Cheese Guild, accepted into its ranks French Ambassador to Serbia H.E. Frederic Mondolini, Serbian Economy Minister Goran Knežević, Guillaume Iskandar, head chef of Belgrade’s Langouste restaurant, Quentin Royer, president of company Delhaize, Goran Kovačević, general director of supermarket chain Gomex, Sreten Radović, director of publishing at Ringier Axel Springer, Igor Luković, editor of magazine Vino & Fino and member of the board of the Serbian Association of Sommeliers, and Thierry Leforestier, commercial director of the Savencia group. Mlekoprodukt CEO Andrej Beslać was awarded earlier that same day. The newly named members are tasked with continuing to spread the tradition of cheese production and consumption in the community, thereby ensuring greater visibility for domestic products from this industry. According to Mlekoprodukt’s CEO Beslać, “Mlekoprodukt produces 7,000 tonnes of dairy products annually, a considerable portion of which is cheese, and this amount is rising constantly. It is for this reason that the presence of this renowned Guild in Serbia, through its members from the local community, is very important.” He also emphasised that the establishing of an official Serbian chapter of the guild is planned, with the aim of developing the full potential of cheese production in Serbia. The International Guild of Cheese has existed for more than half a century and has 7,000 members in 45 countries. During the event declaring new guild members from Serbia, guests had the opportunity to enjoy selected French and Serbian wines alongside Mlekoprodkt’s cheeses, including Biser Selekta, Ile de France, Caprice des Dieux and Le Rustique.
