German car body component producer Kirchhoff Hungária Ltd. is carrying out an expansion to its Esztergom plant worth HUF 2.9 billion, and will create 49 new jobs within a year, Szabolcs Sólyom, manager of the firm informed the press in Esztergom on Tuesday.
At the press briefing, Péter Szijjártó, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and External Economic Relations of the Prime Minister’s Office said that 160 000 new jobs had been created in Hungary since the new government came to power in 2010, which shows that the country is successfully combating the crisis.
The State Secretary also stressed that the government supports businesses which contribute to the performance of the Hungarian economy by creating new jobs, as the crisis can only be overcome by increasing employment. The government’s decision to put an emphasis on production and work was correct, and it wishes to continue this policy and to convert Hungary into the production centre of Europe, he added.
According to Szabolcs Sólyom, a nearly 1000 square meter production hall will be opened within the framework of the investment, which will house a heat compression moulding production line. The extension was partially necessitated by new orders from the new Mercedes plant in Kecskemét. The project has received more than HUF 745 million from the European Union and the Hungarian budget.
Kirchhoff Hungária Ltd. last announced an expansion worth HUF 2.7 billion in its Esztergom plant in August 2012.
When construction is completed, the number of staff will increase from 400 to 500.
Between 2004 and 2010, Kirchhoff Hungária produced parts exclusively for Suzuki, then, owing to the crisis, it widened its range of customers. The company has received orders from a further seven automotive companies until 2017, it will therefore become the supplier of Mercedes Kecskemét, the sSovakian plants of Peugeot, Citroen and Volkswagen, Skoda in the Czech Republic and the Hungarian plants of BMW and General Motors.
Szabolcs Sólyom said that the annual turnover of the company was EUR 27 million in 2011, whereas this year it could reach 50 million, and 100 million by the end of 2014. The project will also place the Hungarian plant within the top five of Kirchhoff’s 30 factories.
The 227 year old Kirchhoff Group is a German family-owned company. It has four divisions in which waste collection and treatment vehicle bodies (Faun) and precision tools (WITTE) are manufactured, in addition to which it manufactures passenger cars concerted according to needs of disabled persons (REHA), and the Kirchhoff Automotive group manufactures and assembles metal body panels for the automotive industry.
(Prime Minister’s Office)
