Canadian-owned Linamar Hungary Cls. will be creating two hundred new jobs in provincial Hungary at three locations with an investment of 8.64 billion forint (EUR 27.5 million), 119 in Orosháza, 71 in Békéscsaba and ten in Gyöngyös, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced at a press conference in Budapest on Tuesday.

The Government is providing 1.55 billion forints (EUR 4.95 million) in non-returnable funding towards the development of the partly automotive industry and partly machinery industry company, Mr. Szijjártó told the press.

Within the framework of the investment project, the company will be installing new equipment that uses state-of-the-art technology, and with which it will be capable of supplying increased market demand, he explained.

The company exports 86 percent of the products it manufactures in Hungary, most of them to Canada, and according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade the new investment will lead to a further increase in Canadian-Hungarian bilateral trade flow, which grew by 6 percent last year.

Several countries were in competition for the new investment project being realised by Linamar, which operated 59 plants and six research centres in nineteen countries, Mr. Szijjártó noted. According to the Minister, the fact that by introducing Europe’s lowest levels of tax Hungary has succeeded in creating one of the continent’s most favourable investment environment played an important part in the decision.

Linamar’s investment is the fifth automotive industry investment to be announced within the past ten days, Mr. Szijjártó highlighted, explaining that this is also good news because the good performance of the industry, which provides almost 30 percent of the country’s industrial output, provides the foundations for economic growth in excess of 4 percent.

Last year, the Hungarian automotive industry broke all previous records, generating a production value of over 8 trillion forints (EUR 25.5bn), the Minister added.

The performance of the automotive industry, which plays a leading role in the new industrial era, is vital to the future success of the Hungarian economy, Mr. Szijjártó said.

Member of Parliament György Simonka (Fidesz) called Orosháza Békés County’s most industrialised city, and stressed that Linamar is now the company that provides the most jobs in the city. This is one of the reasons why it is extremely important that the company should continue to grow, he added.

Mr. Simonka said he hoped that thanks to programmes that also include the requirements of the private sector, young people and skilled workers would remain in the county rather than moving away.

CEO of Linamar Csaba Havasi spoke about the fact that the turnover generated by the new investment over the next five years is expected to exceed 41 billion forints (EUR 131 million). Last year the company, which employs over 2500 people in Hungary, realised over 58 billion forints in turnover. According to publically available company data, the 2017 figures exceed the previous year’s turnover by some 8 billion forints (EUR 25 million).

The Canada-based company has realised over 34 billion forints (EUR 108 million) in investments in Hungary between 2010 and 2017.

One of the company’s important goals is the development of agricultural and industrial machinery manufacturing, and increasing their competitiveness within the field of the automotive industry through the introduction of new technologies, the CEO stressed.

According to company data, in 2016 the company generated 50.5 billion forints in turnover, 30.3 billion forints of which was derived from exports, and realised 3 billion forints in pre-tax profits.

(MTI)