The South Korean-owned automotive components supplier Hanon Systems Hungary Kft. will bring new investments totalling HUF 36.7 billion to Székesfehérvár, Pécs and Rétság, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced at a press conference held on Thursday in Budapest.

He said the Székesfehérvár capacity enlargement project and the construction of new sites in Pécs and Rétság have been awarded non-repayable state grants worth HUF 7.5 billion, and will create 516 jobs in total. Similar to earlier projects, this investment, too, was awarded to Hungary amidst keen international competition, he added. The vast majority of new jobs will come into being in Pécs by virtue of a greenfield project. The investor will create some 450 job opportunities for residents of the city and the neighbouring areas, the Minister announced. The work force reserves of the South Transdanubia region are, he said, significant, and in consequence, new investors may appear in Baranya County in the near future.

The air-conditioning compressors to be manufactured in Hanon Systems’ Pécs and Székesfehérvár plants will be installed into cars made by Volkswagen, Audi, Peugeot, Ford, BMW and other major car manufacturers, while the Rétság plant will manufacture aluminium alloy parts, he added. According to the Minister, the significance of the investment lies in the latest manufacturing technologies planned to be used, in addition to job creation. South Korean companies are at the vanguard of global technological change, and it is therefore a particularly important achievement that bilateral trade expanded by 54 per cent up to the end of September on a year-to-year basis, he added.

Hanon Systems Vice-President Min Sung said as an automotive industry supplier they manufacture products related to cooling and heating as well as equipment necessary for the manufacture of electric cars. The company executive highlighted that they chose these production sites due to their favourable experiences in Hungary, the availability of excellent work force and the existing advanced infrastructure. The investment in Hungary will be an important milestone in the company’s expansion in Europe, he stressed.

Péter Hoppál, Member of Parliament for the Baranya County constituency which will host the Pécs project, pointed out that Hanon Systems first appeared in Hungary in 1990, and therefore its presence, he said, is as old as Hungarian democracy. Welcoming the investment, he highlighted the significance of industrial developments in the South Transdanubia region, and added that this is the only region in the country which still has free work force.

The South Korean Hanon Systems operates manufacturing sites and engineering centres in 40 countries world-wide, employs 16,000 people, and its annual sales revenue reach USD 5 billion. It is the world’s second most significant player in the manufacture of air-conditioning compressors.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)