A EUR 13 M factory of Monbat Recycling, a subsidiary of Bulgarian company Monbat, in Romania will be inaugurated formally by the Prime Ministers of Bulgaria and Romania Boyko Borisov and Emil Boc on Thursday.

Monbat Recycling SRL, whose plant is located outside of Bucharest, is an investment of Bulgarian car battery producer Monbat, part of the Bulgarian Prista Oil Group, one of the largest machine oil and battery producers in Eastern Europe.

Monbat's factory in Romania has been operating since February 2011. It is the second recycling plant of Monbat, after the company based in Bulgaria's Montana opened a recycling facility located in the town of Indjija, northern Serbia, in September 2010.

In addition to Boyko Borisov and Emil Boc, Bulgarian Finance Minister Simeon Djankov and Economy Minister Traicho Traikov will also attend the opening of Monbat Recycling near Bucharest, as will Bulgarian tycoons, Atanas Bobokov and Pavel Bobokov, who are the founders of Prista Oil and Monbat.

Monbat's factory in Romania is a greenfield investment, meeting all latest EU requirements. It has the capacity to process 40 000 tons of batteries per year, and 22 000 tons of lead, which is then used for production of car batteries in Monbat's other factories.

Monbat is one of the few large-scale Bulgarian investor abroad together with its parent company, Prista Oil.

In 2010, Monbat's consolidated sales amounted to BGN 161 M, with 95% of its produce going for exports, and Germany being the company's largest market.