On 8 July Keppel FELS Baltech celebrated its 15^th Anniversary at Barite Complex, Chernevo. This event was honored by the presence of Mr C H Tong - CEO of Keppel O&M and Mr Aziz Merchant - GM (Engineering) of Keppel O&M, who had series of meetings with KFB staff, representatives of the regional government and business in Varna.

Guests-of-Honour to the celebration were Admiral Hristo Kontrov (Regional Governor of Varna Region), Mr Svilen Kraychev (Deputy Mayor of Varna), representatives of the Technical University and the Naval Academy in Varna, partners from the marine business and finance.

Mr Lyudmil Stoev (GM of Keppel FELS Baltech) highlighted in his introduction speech: “Inspired by being Keppelites, our vision has been to develop Keppel FELS Baltech to First Class Engineering Company with a clearly determined mission – to provide best design services in KO&M and to be preferred employer in marine & offshore business in Bulgaria.

“On the base of Keppel FELS world leadership in marine & offshore technology, that mission was and is enough ambitious to energize our professional life”

Mr C H Tong (CEO of KO&M) said: “KFB has come a long way, considering that it had started out with just a handful of local engineers in Varna. Today, KFB has become a state-of-the-art engineering company, backed by a capable workforce of more than 100 people.

“It has also grown to become an important part of the Keppel O&M Group, helping to boost the competitive edge of our global yards across Singapore, the Netherlands, the US and the Caspian region, with high quality engineering solutions for offshore rigs and specialized marine vessels.“

Admiral Hristo Kontrov (Regional Governor of Varna Region) was delighted to show his satisfaction from the collaboration between Keppel Group and Varna Region: “I would like to express my appreciation to Mr Tong and representatives of Keppel O&M management, for creating employment opportunities in Varna between 1995 and 2000 and that is the most difficult period for the Bulgarian shipbuilding industry.

“I would like also to assure you that the partnership between the regional government of Varna and Keppel Corporation will continue to develop in future.”

Admiral Kontrov and Mr Tong exchanged tokens of memory. The Regional Governor was awarded with sculpture of an orchid – the national flower and important symbol of Singapore, embodying the striving for growth, development and perseverance.

Greeting addresses were accepted from the Regional Administration of Varna Region, the Technical University, the Naval Academy, the BSHC, ACTIV, etc.

All guests were given a copy of the jubilee books of Keppel Corporation – “CAN DO” and “More than Mettle”.

The ceremony continued with Long service awards presented to KFB employees with over 5 years of service in the Company. This memorable event will remain unforgettable – the excitement of the award bestowed by Keppel senior management under the loud applause of colleagues and guests to the celebration.

Afterwards all present enjoyed the folklore program performed by the untiring young dancers from the traditional dances ensemble and everybody was really filled with the Bulgarian spirit which was steeped in that place. The traditional Bulgarian “pravo horo” made everybody stand up and join the dance as Mr Tong and Mr Merchant were also involved after short demonstration.

Even in its most festive moments KFB is not neglecting its ecological orientation and the traditional lottery was organized with mission: to support forestation project in autumn’2009. By the beginning of 2009 KFB has disposed 5040 kg used paper for recycling and it was estimated that this had saved 84 trees from sawing.