At the end of a three-day state visit to this country President of Germany Joachim Gauck and Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev paid a visit to the copper plant of German company Aurubis in the town of Pirdop. This is no accident as the plant is an emblematic example of the fact that some 30 percent of the 100 largest investors in Bulgaria are actually German companies. This is the leading copper processing plant in Southeast Europe, producing 1.2 million tons of copper concentrate and 1.2 million tons of sulfuric acid annually. In 2015 the turnover of the company reached 2.2 billion euros. Some 550 million euros have been invested over the past 10 years in modernization and environmental protection. The investment program of the company until 2018 totals 180 million euros, it was reported.