Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó officially inaugurated a new laminated glass production facility at American-owned Guardian Glass’s plant in Orosháza.

Prior to the official inauguration of the 4.1 billion-forint (EUR 12.6 million) investment, Mr. Szijjártó told reporters that the United States is the second largest investor in Hungary and Hungary’s second most important trade partner outside the European Union.

“American enterprises realise 15 percent of the foreign investments in Hungary. The 1700 U.S. companies operating in Hungary provide a living for 105 thousand Hungarians”, he added.

The Minister announced that the Cabinet had decided last week to refurbish the road linking Orosháza and Szentes at the earliest opportunity. “By the end of next year, together with the M44 dual carriageway already under construction, the region’s transport infrastructure will have improved by several orders of magnitude, facilitating further investments”, he added. Vice President of Guardian Glass and Managing Director of Guardian Europe Guus Boekhoudt justified the investment by the fact that the regulations of several countries now demand the use of safety glass in the case of both external and internal doors and windows, for which laminated glass is the most effective solution.

“The demand for noise reduction is increasing in the case of both industrial and residential buildings, as a result of which demand for sound-insulated laminated glass has also increased”, he said. “Homes are increasingly being built using triple glazing, as a result of which demand for this kind of glass will increase even further”, Mr. Boekhoudt added. The new production line at the plant, which employs 330 people, will manufacture 150 lorryloads of products every month, 80 percent of which will be distributed on foreign markets.

In 2017, the Orosháza plant realised 25 billion forints (EUR 77.2 million) in turnover, increasing further in 2018, although the precise figure is still unknown because the approval of the final balance-sheet is still ongoing, the company stated.

Guardian Glass operates sheet glass plants in 11 European countries, including Poland, Germany and Russia. The company is Guardian Industries’ largest subsidiary and the world’s largest manufacturer of sheet and laminated glass products. The Guardian group employs 18 thousand people worldwide. Guardian is 100 percent owned by Koch Industries Inc.

(MTI)