The Hungarian Government and Tungsram have concluded a strategic partnership agreement; the agreement was signed on Monday in Budapest by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó and President and CEO of Tungsram Jörg Bauer.

“One of the outstanding achievements of last year was that we succeeded in bringing Tungsram, a 123-year-old Hungarian brand, back to life”, Mr. Szijjártó pointed out. “General Electric’s regional light bulb and global car light sector was purchased by a Hungarian owner, the Tungsram Group, led by GE’s former upper manager Jörg Bauer. Accordingly, Tungsram is once again under Hungarian ownership”, he stated.

“Tungsram has trade representations in 22 countries around the world, it is a Hungary-based multinational company, the development of which is clearly in Hungary’s national economic interests”, the Minister underlined. He told the press that this is the Government’s 80th strategic partnership agreement. Previous agreements have led to the creation of 22 thousand new jobs so far, and partner companies, which include 60 production companies, 18 service sector companies and one financial sector company, provide work to 180 thousand people. Together with Tungsram, the government’s partner corporations now include 7 Hungarian companies.

“145 thousand people are employed by the electronic industry, in which Tungsram is active, and the sector can support the further growth of the Hungarian economy; in the first ten months of last year it realised a production value of 4200 billion forints (EUR 13bn), an increase of 9 percent”, the Minister told reporters.

“The company operates in a sector of industry that is exposed to technological innovations, as a result of which it must protect and develop its position amidst stiff international competition. This is one of the reasons why the Hungarian Government is supporting Tungsram, and Eximbank has provided a major loan to the company to facilitate the development of its domestic and international competitiveness”, he added.

“The company operates production units in five cities, Budapest, Nagykanizsa, Hajdúböszörmény, Zalaegerszeg and Kisvárda, and the provision of support for further Hungarian investments on the part of Tungsram will facilitate the further expansion of these plants”, Mr. Szijjártó explained. “Tungsram remains a strong brand in North Africa and the Middle East, and with some effort it could also become that in the Far East and Southeast Asia; and the U.S. market will represent a particular challenge”, he said. The company is the 3rd largest Hungarian-owned enterprise and exports 95 percent of its products. The Hungarian foreign economy is counting on the company to facilitate further success. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the success of Tungsram also means success for other enterprises, since 670 out of the company’s 1500 suppliers are Hungarian small and medium-sized enterprises.

“An important part of the agreement is that the Government will help SMEs become the company’s suppliers. The agreement supports the maintaining of Hungarian industrial traditions, Hungarian jobs have been protected and the creation of new ones has been made possible, and the Government has committed itself to the success of a new global market player”, Mr. Szijjártó said in summary.

“Last year, the Hungarian economy and Hungarian enterprises achieved a unique level of performance, and according to forecasts in 2018 Hungarian exports achieved their highest export value in history, exceeding 100 billion euros”, he also stated. “98 major investments were realised in the country via the reorganised investment promotion system as a total value of 1380 billion forints (EUR 4.3bn), towards which the Government provided 135 billion forints (EUR 420 million) in non-returnable funding. The value of Hungarian investments has increased by 60 percent over a period of four years, and similarly good results are expected in 2019”, the Minister also said.

President and CEO of Tungsram Jörg Bauer pointed out that in certain parts of the world the world Tungsram is synonymous with high quality lights bulbs. In the Near East, if someone wants to buy a light bulb, they just say: “Give me a Tungsram”. This result was successfully achieved through 123 years of innovative, outstanding products and globally good trade relations, he added. Tungsram is present in 100 countries and employees almost 5ive thousand people in Hungary, he stated.

“The corporation is striving to achieve a role of and innovative company that is a market leader both domestically and internationally, and regards the partnership agreement as the only viable way and the key to competitiveness”, he says. Deputy Mayor of Újpest István Nagy spoke about the fact that the world-famous Újpest Sports Association and the capital’s district have become inseparable from the company, and Újpest’s heritage is not only innovation, but social responsibility. Even the name of public spaces in Újpest is related to Tungsram, and thousands of Újpest residents have worked for or are currently working for the company, he explained. In reply to a question from Hungarian news agency MTI, it was stated that according to preliminary figures the Tungsram Group achieved 300 million dollars in turnover in 2018.

(MTI)