The Hungarian subsidiary of the German Bock Group, Bock Hungária Ltd., will be expanding its production capacity in Ajka and Noszlop with an investment of 3.8 billion forints (EUR 11.6 million), creating 60 new jobs as a result in the Veszprém County towns.

At a press conference in Budapest on Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Parliamentary State Secretary told reporters that the Government is providing 800 million forints (EUR 2.45 million) in funding towards the investment being realised by the office furniture manufacturer. Levente Magyar justified the government assistance with the fact that Bock Hungária is deeply integrated into the Hungarian economy and is integrally linked to local industry and its network of suppliers.

“Hungary is gaining a lot from the expansion of German top industry, in addition to which Bock’s Hungarian subsidiary is also bringing high added value production to Veszprém County”’, the State Secretary added.

“In harmony with the Government’s aspirations, the company is also bringing research, development and planning activities, and the realisation of the investment project is beginning just a year after the first negotiations between the company’s leadership and the Ministry”, he stated. Managing Director of Bock Hungária Frank Eidmann explained the investment with increasing orders and customer demand. “A new production hall will be constructed during the course of the project and the production lines will be modernised using robot technology”, he added. The region’s MP welcomed the investment, pointing out that Bock is not just an assembly plant, but also develops new technologies in addition to manufacturing. The developments realised in Hungary by Bock are applied worldwide, and accordingly Zoltán Kovács (Fidesz-KDNP) said he trusts that a strategic cooperation agreement could soon be concluded with the company.

Bock, which is the market leader in the field of office furniture and parts production, employs some one thousand people in Hungary, making Hungary the largest production location within the company group. It first appeared in Hungary in 1996 as a trade investor, beginning production in Noszlop in 2002 and at its Ajka plant in 2010. In 2017, Bock Hungária realised over 10.7 billion forints (EUR 32.7 million) in turnover. In addition to Hungary and Germany, the company group also operates factories in Canada and China.

(MTI)