Yordanka Popova received personally by the Queen of England

It was July 12 this year. Dozens of men and women from successful British companies are at an afternoon garden party in Buckingham Palace, invited personally by Her Majesty Elizabeth II to congratulate them on the prestigious royal awards they were distinguished with in different categories. Among them was the Bulgarian Yordanka Popova, who together with five English colleagues was here to receive not one but two awards for the young but prospering company they represented. It is called INCADIGITAL and was incorporated only 5 years ago by seven enthusiastic English innovator engineers who constructed the first machine for printing of color images on any surface with special plastic inks, which are not water based but are plasticized by ultraviolet light. In the year 2000, Yordanka went for a job interview and the fourfold miracle worked – only foreigner on the team, a Bulgarian, a woman and an engineer. But wonders happen only in fairytales. In real life, her employers realized they encountered a very capable and reliable person. And they were not only not disappointed, they appreciated her so much that her position in the company got higher and higher and outside the owners she was the only one invited to the reception in the palace.

Mrs. Popova, I want to take you back to the beginning. How did you find yourself in England and what roads took you to today's success?
I left for England in 1991 with our two children Ina and Veselin, who were 5 years and 7 months old, respectively. My husband had started work for a computer company, at first on a one-year contract, but our stay was constantly extended and here we are – 14 years in England. Until my son was four, I stayed at home and took care of him. When he went to school I started looking for a job, without knowing a word of English outside the common daily talk. I am an engineer by education. I have graduated what is today the Technical University in Sofia. I was employed by a company as a draftsman, but in two months (I already had some command of the language) I was offered an engineer position. I stayed there for about two and a half years. Then I moved to a motor company where I was responsible for the introduction of new designs in the production of Volvo, Netcam, Mitsubishi and Lakeland. Meanwhile my husband got a job in Cambridge but I had to stay behind for another year in Wales with the children, because our daughter Ina had to pass her school-leaving exams. In September 2000 we all moved to Cambridge.

So, you were again faced with the problem of finding a job. Did you have any choice?
Yes, I got several offers. But I was attracted to the newly incorporated Incadigital Printer, although they offered me the least salary. Seven able specialists had founded in late May the same year. They had rented a room and borrowed money to start their business. I felt I could be very useful and will have greater freedom in the new company. Initially we were a staff of 20, of whom only ten were on a permanent job. I began as a project manager. A real buffer between the designer engineer's team and production.

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What will you remember the first machine you produced for a particular client with? Isn't it like giving birth to a child?
The clients who had ordered it were so excited and curious about the whole process that they literally lived at the manufacturing site. They attended all tests. They are so much in love with the machine to this day, they don't want to buy a new upgraded model and continue using it.

What has the company achieved since it produced the first machine?
At present it has 145 employees. We make 6 different models and have many patents. We sell all over the world – in Japan, Australia, Russia, Bahrain, Mexico, Scandinavia. 40% of the machines go to the USA. Those of us who are with the company from the outset feel it as our own. The owners do not look on us as subordinates. We have very good relations and it is a real pleasure to go to work. We also spend our free time together.