“The key to the future successes of the Hungarian economy is fundamentally provided by how rapidly we are able to switch to the new, digital global economic system”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said at the inauguration of Intretech Hungary Ltd.’s new plant in Kapuvár.
“Intretech Hungary’s 8.8 billion-forint (EUR 26.5 million) investment is bringing state-of-the-art manufacturing and production management technologies to Hungary. Everything in this new plant represents the 21st century; everything here happens based on the Industry 4.0 concept”, the Minister added. Mr. Szijjártó announced that the new electronic production facility, the first phase of which was inaugurated on Friday, will be creating two hundred new workplaces, and that the government has provided 1.27 billion forints (EUR 3.82 million) in non-returnable funding towards the project.
Presenting the investment project, Vice-President of Intretech Hungary Ltd. Zifeng Wei said the total area of the industrial park is 76,700 square metres. In the first phase, a plant with a useful floor space of 7500 square metres was constructed in which the manufacturing of electronic parts and products will occur with the help of state-of-the-art automatic placing and assembly equipment. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade emphasised that the new plant will be contributing to the further growth of electronics production, which was 11 percent in Hungary last year, with a production value exceeding 5 trillion forints (EUR 15 bn). “An additional 8 percent growth was observed during the first six months of this year, and the number of people working in the sector has now exceeded 145 thousand”, he added.
Mr. Szijjártó also spoke about the fact that the Hungarian economy is moving from a production-orientated economy towards a focus on research & development. The performance of the Hungarian economy has been increasing continuously for the past six years, and the 5.1 percent GDP growth recorded for the first half of this year was the highest in the European Union. According to the Minister, Hungary is one of the winners of the new global economic system, with the value of investment increasing continuously over the past five years. 43 major investments arrived in Hungary during the first half of this year with a total value of 731 billion forints (EUR 2.2 bn). He also pointed out that while Hungary is ranked 92nd in the world according to its population, it boasts the 34th largest export performance in the world.
Chinese president of Intretech Hungary Ltd. Linden Lin stressed that the company offers services within the field of the research and development of intelligent drive elements and innovative consumer electronics products, with which it supplies more than 60 enterprises. “In future, we not only wish to launch the second phase of our investment project and move the production process of high-tech products here, but will also be establishing a research and development base in Hungary”, he added. In his speech, China’s Ambassador to Hungary Tuan Chie-Lung said economic relations between the two countries have entered the best ever period in their history. “Chinese investment in Hungary has reached some 4.5 billion dollars, which represents half of total Chinese investment in Central Europe”, he added. Praising the government, local council and company cooperation achieved during the preparation and realisation of the investment, mayor of Kapuvár György Hámori (Fidesz) asked the partners to: “build Kapuvár into a city of the future”.
(MTI)
