“Deufol will be constructing one of Europe’s most modern packaging and logistics centres in Debrecen with funding from the Government and an investment of 7 billion forints (EUR 21.7 million), and the new facility will also serve as the German company’s regional centre in Southeast Europe”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced at a press conference in Budapest on Thursday evening.

Mr. Szijjártó said the Government is contributing 1.4 billion forints (EUR 4.3 million) in non-returnable funding towards the investment project, which will create 120 new workplaces. He highlighted that Hungary successfully won the investment amid stiff competition. “In the increasing competition within the global economy, how enterprises are able to get their goods to consumers is an important factor, and the first step of logistics is packaging; the role of the packaging industry is becoming increasingly important”, the Minister explained.

“Hungary is one of the winners of the new global economic era, as also indicated by the fact that in the first quarter of this year the rate of growth of the economy was 5.3 percent, putting the country at the top of the European rankings”, Mr. Szijjártó emphasised. “One of the reasons for this is that investment increased by 25.5 percent during a single year”, he pointed out, adding that the record for foreign investment arriving in Hungary has been broken in every consecutive year since 2014, and international companies clearly have confidence in Hungary. He explained that there can be no successful investment promotion policy without successful cities. “600 billion forints (EUR 1.86 billion) in investment has arrived in Debrecen since 2014, and more than 6000 new workplaces have been created”, the Minister stated.

“Last year, Debrecen attracted the most investment from among Hungary’s large rural cities. According to a survey, 90 percent of investors are happy with the conditions and 84 percent are planning further investments”, he told the press. Mr. Szijjártó stressed that the new investment is reinforcing Hungarian-German economic relations, adding that Hungarian-German trade flow had already approached 20 billion euros by the end of April. “The Hungarian packaging industry provides jobs for 20 thousand people. The investment is contributing to the further expansion of the packaging industry, the performance of which increased by 15 percent during the first four months of this year”, he indicated.

Managing Director of the Deufol Group and Deufol Hungary Jürgen Hillen said the German company group operates 90 facilities in 11 countries and employs 2300 people. “In addition to the companies already present, many other international manufacturing companies are making their way to Debrecen, and Deufol regards the city as a strategic location, and this is why it chose it as the site for its 91st facility”, he added. “The investment in Hungary is one of the largest in the company’s history. We have purchased 15 hectares in the city’s southern industrial park, where we will be constructing the infrastructure for the manufacturing of packaging materials, innovative packaging, supplementary warehousing and other logistics activities. Construction of the first phase will already begin this month”, the Managing Director told the press.

Deputy Mayor of Debrecen Lajos Barcsa stressed that there are already some 40 enterprises with German backgrounds operating in the city. “Some three quarters of the 600 billion forints in total investment arriving in the city between 2014 and 2019 came from German companies, and half of the 6200 new workplaces were created by companies with German backgrounds”, he stated. “The city has spent 8 billion forints (EUR 24.8 million) on the development of its southern industrial park and Deufol is the fourth company to move here. The size of the area is currently 200 hectares, but the long-term plan is to establish a 600-hectare industrial park here”, the Deputy Mayor told reporters.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)