At the foundation-stone ceremony for Apollo Tyres Hungary’s new plant in Gyöngyöshalász, Heves County, Viktor Orbán pointed out that Hungary’s educational system must be modernised so that the young can acquire practical knowledge.
“We do not want to make our educational system completely subordinate to business considerations, but one thing is sure: we need to bring the two fields closer to one another in order to achieve success”, the Prime Minister said. Viktor Orbán underlined that the Apollo Tyres Hungary investment is not just a factory providing a living for many people, but it ensures that children will acquire practical knowledge, since the plant has already started consultations with local schools.
The Prime Minister said that the largest investment in the region will secure the livelihoods of nearly one thousand families.
“Tyres is investing in a country where economic growth is considered to be among the best in Europe, and where we have committed to reducing unemployment to 3 per cent”, Viktor Orbán said.
The Prime Minister noted that if Hungarians understand the system of a factory, they will understand something about the future as well. “It takes no more than 4 or 5 years for the world around us to change completely. If a nation wishes to remain competitive, it must embrace modern technologies to the full”, he said.
He said that Hungary had suffered under forty years of communist rule, being isolated from the world of modern technology. A technological approach is impossible to retrieve without investors, he remarked.
“Twenty years ago, I would not have believed that I would see a time when, instead of Europeans investing in India, people from India would be investing in the heart of Europe”, he said.
According to Mr. Orbán, this shows that there is the chance for continents, countries, businesses and families to become so successful that they can get real influence, acknowledgement and respect in the previously much more developed West. “It is an especially important, promising sign for us as Hungarians, because we also started with a disadvantage”, he added.
“We have succeeded in establishing cooperation, as a result of which we have even been noticed in a distant country, and they believe that it is worth putting confidence in the future of Hungary”, Mr. Orbán said.
Mr. Orbán also underlined that the 975 people who will work at the Apollo Tyres factory would have been unable to earn the money necessary to sustain their families anywhere else, or could not have found as good a workplace.
This development is not just a business opportunity but the largest investment in the region, and its shared success can open doors onto the world and attract more investors, he said.
Apollo Tyres Chairman and Managing Director Onkar S. Kanwar spoke of how India is now the fourth largest economy in the world, and an emerging digital power numbered among the fastest developing markets.
The Gyöngyöshalász factory is the first green-field investment by Apollo Tyres outside India. “Our aim is to reach exemplary production capacity levels; this will be the company’s most modern factory”, he underlined. Mr. Kanwar said that the tyre factory will not just create workplaces directly; employment will be boosted indirectly as well. He pointed out that the company considers social responsibility an important issue, and in this regard it is planning to organise a number of events on healthcare and environmental protection.
Apollo Tyres Deputy Chairman Neeraj Kanwar said that their company is committed to enhancing their employees’ quality of life, and that it will contribute to the development of the region.
He added that responsible growth can only be achieved through environmental consciousness and social sustainability. “In the world of Apollo Tyres, the Gyöngyöshalász factory will be the highest peak”, he noted. He declared that the first tyres will roll off the conveyor belts in 18 months’ time.
(Prime Minister's Office)
